Warp Series 02: The Antiwarp Saga
by Jax Malcolm
Summary: (Season two complete) Warp is back in the continuation of Warp Series! New enemies, new friends, and especially new surprises and twists await Bill this time...
1. Prelude: Refresher

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, Bill, Team Rocket, et cetera. I do, however, own Ziggy, Dr. Crocus, Antiwarp, and whatever else you're pretty sure no one in the right mind would put into a REAL anime show.  
  
Foreword: This is the prelude to the second season of Warp Series. It isn't necessary; I'm just putting it up for those of you who have read season one and don't want to go back through and read it again to refresh your memory... or those of you who are too lazy to read season one to begin with. ^_^; It's a detailed, spoiler-happy summary of what's happened thus far, so sit back and enjoy it. ^_^  
  
And by the way, I'm aware that this is at least two days early (I had originally said that season two would start in April, and I'm delivering this on the thirtieth of March.), but I was bored last night, so I typed up at least this much. (Actually, episode eleven is done as well, but I'm holding it until the first. ^_^)  
  
***  
Prelude 01--  
Refresher  
  
Seventeen-year-old Bill McKenzie was a normal human being. (Well, normal as you can get for being a supergenius, not to mention one of the world's most well-known Pokémon researchers when you're barely old enough to vote.) However, late one night, just as he was testing the latest version of one of his latest inventions, he managed to absorb some of the programming from the machine, allowing him to shift (transfer his mind and soul) into Pokémon bodies.   
  
At first, he hopped into random Pokémon bodies simply to help those in need with the help of Zigurat Alpha, better known as Ziggy (Bill's cyber companion who appears as a hologram seen and heard only by shifters and other holograms), and Zero, a mysterious omniscient girl whose true identity is yet to be revealed. And together, the three composed the group known as Warp.  
  
Then enter the bad guys, Antiwarp, a branch of Team Rocket who had intended on using stolen information about Warp to create their own shifters and wreak havoc upon whoever is around when a Pokémon becomes possessed by a shifter. Unfortunately, the group was led by Nathan "Loki" Lokov, who has had a grudge against Bill ever since one fateful day on a bridge when Bill could do nothing but stand by as his best friend (and the one girl Loki ever had eyes for), Contessa (aka Tess) Loveland jumped off and killed herself.  
  
While Loki (with the help of Antiwarp) tried to become a shifter and program his own hologram (Oracle), Bill, who was told that danger was about to knock on his door, rushed to gain control of his new ability, giving him an obvious edge against Antiwarp. BUT when Bill made a deal during a shift to exchange the secret to mastering shifting for freedom, Loki gained the same advantage.  
  
And so began the final struggle (or so it seemed). Loki forced Bill into a fierce battle just after Giovanni abandoned Project Warp and fired Loki in his fear of another Project Mewtwo.  
  
When the battle finally ended and the smoke cleared, the hero of the story was declared the victor, and so, to prevent any further damage done by Loki, Bill sealed away Loki's shifting powers using a Ditto/Mewtwo's telekinesis, which in turn pushed Loki completely over the edge and destroyed what sanity he had left.  
  
And so, Bill returned to his peaceful life, taking a rest from shifting, and knowing Antiwarp had become just a few words in the history books...  
  
...Or so he thinks...  
  
Enter season two! 


	2. Sisterly Love

Foreword: First off, yes, the footnote system is in effect. Anytime you see a number within asterisks (*), go to the bottom of the chapter to read a note. Yes, Pokémon speech is the same thing here. { and } offset something translated into the human language.  
  
This is a bit rushed because I'm replying to whatever review that had come since last time I checked the review box, just as I did the tenth episode, so here we go!  
  
To all those who said they loved Warp Series: Domo arigatou! ^_^  
  
To individual reviews:  
  
-Light Sneasel, on episode 10: This goes for Dr. Thinker too, but I know I've surprised a lot of people when I chose Ditto during this episode. Originally, I was going to have Bill shift from one Pokémon to another (dark and bug elementals, of course), but then I just got lazy. ^_^;  
  
Then again, by choosing Ditto, I brought up the exact point that Light Sneasel found: Bill IS the stronger shifter. Quite powerful in general, too. ^_^ Trust me, this is an important point toward the end of this season. (Oops. Shouldn't be giving anything away, now, should I? ^_-)  
  
I also thank LS-sama for the information on Bill's "role" in Ruby/Sapphire. I hope you don't mind, but I'll be putting it up on Forgotten Lights soon.  
  
-DarkCatXX, on extra 01: Yes, all good stories should put you right in the action. I try to do this with everything I write, and I'm hoping others out there (save for those of you who literally title your stories "The worst Pokémon fanfiction of all time", no pointing fingers...) are doing the same.  
  
-Light Sneasel, on extra 01: Hmm... You're getting warmer to figuring out Zero, LS, but if all else fails, you can always wait. I've gotten rid of season four, so you'll be able to find out as soon as somewhere in season three. ^_-  
  
And by the way, good luck with the GBA-paw problem. ^_^  
  
-Light Sneasel, on extra 03: First off, thanks for the luck with the union workers.   
  
Second, wow, you can hold your breath for a long time. Amazing. ^_^   
  
And third, thanks for joining the cult -- er, CIRCLE -- of Masaki/Bill fans. It's always good to see more in the world. ^_^  
  
Anywho! First episode of the new season, which is technically episode eleven. Just ignore the number in the drop-down box which will take you to various chapters. -_-  
  
***  
Episode 11--  
Sisterly Love  
  
He found himself at the edge of the water. He looked about, trying to find the reason why he was there again.  
  
There she was, kneeling by a patch of flowers. Clematis,*1* if he wasn't mistaken.  
  
"Zero..."  
  
She looked up at him, as if she always knew he was there.  
  
"Hello, Bill. Have you realized that I've left you alone for a month?"  
  
"Yes," he responded. "Zero, why were you keeping me from going on missions?"  
  
"I wanted you to rest," she replied. "Bill, there's something coming."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I can't say. Something bigger than Lokov. Something dark. It will first strike using Antiwarp as a puppet--"  
  
"Antiwarp?" Bill interrupted. "But... Weren't they disbanded over a month ago?"  
  
"They were abandoned by Giovanni, if that's what you mean," Zero answered. "However, someone else will take it."  
  
"Who?"  
  
As if ignoring his question, Zero went on. "The darkness will strike a second time, this time using another form of shifters."  
  
He opened his mouth to ask something, but Zero silenced him with a wave of her hand.  
  
"The third time, it will strike you itself," she continued. "By this time, you will have realized your true destiny and will have mastered your powers."  
  
"That must be a long time from now then," Bill joked.  
  
Zero looked at him. He fell silent and blushed with embarrassment.  
  
"Remain confident. Within the time period this darkness will take to strike you through Antiwarp, you will learn the key to mastering shifting."  
  
She turned to face the lake.  
  
"Bill, now is the time to make the decision. If you choose to follow your destiny, you will put your own life on the line and possibly never return to being a normal human ever again. If you choose to refuse your destiny, you will return to your former life before you gained your powers, but the world will be allowed to plunge into darkness." She looked at him. "Which do you choose?"  
  
He closed his eyes for a moment.  
  
'My... destiny?' he thought, overwhelmed. 'Do I allow evil to ruin this world? Do I allow innocent lives to fall into the darkness? Do I deny my destiny and forsake the reason I've decided to keep my powers?'  
  
Zero remained silent. The only sounds Bill heard as he stared into the void under his eyelids were the sounds of the lake gently lapping against the shore and the sound of the wind blowing through the clearing and around him.  
  
He opened his eyes.  
  
'No...'  
  
He opened his mouth to reply, but Zero smiled and spoke first.  
  
"I can tell you have chosen to keep your destiny," she said. "You have a good heart."  
  
"What should I do to prepare myself?" he inquired.  
  
She gave him a warm look. "Return to your home and rest. That's all you can do."  
  
"Thank you, Zero."  
  
"I should be the one thanking you," she responded. "Your destiny will tell you why. You must go now, but I will contact you later. Farewell!"  
  
Before Bill could ask her anything else, a darkness washed over him.  
  
~~~  
  
It was morning. He could tell. He saw what anyone would see if they closed their eyes in a sunny room. He felt the sun's rays warm his face.  
  
Wait... Sun?  
  
He awoke and looked over at the digital clock on his nightstand. Ten forty-five in the morning. His eyes widened, and he sat up abruptly.  
  
"KYAAA!? How could I let myself sleep in!!?"  
  
~~~  
  
Crocus closed the door to her office (formerly Loki's) with a slam.  
  
'Greedy morons!' she thought.  
  
The Rockets had indeed returned, but they refused to form a band of unpaid soldiers for her. They wished to be paid, or they would leave. Unfortunately, Crocus had no money for paychecks.  
  
She growled. "Where am I going to get money?"  
  
"Perhaps I can help," a low, raspy voice replied from the shadows of the room.  
  
She gasped. "Who's there!?"  
  
Two points of light, the visitor's blood-red eyes, lit up.  
  
"My name is Keios,*2*" the visitor replied. "I'm a wealthy business man willing to make a deal."  
  
"Really? What sort of deal?"  
  
"I will give you money if you do something in return for me."  
  
"What sort of something?" Crocus narrowed her eyes.  
  
"There is a young man whom I fear will cause trouble for me in the future," Keios explained. "He recently alarmed me by gaining a special ability. Find a way to strip him of his powers, then destroy him with your own shifters."  
  
"Hmph! Why should I carry out a pointless assasination for you?"  
  
"I promise you, if you do as I say, I'll give you the money to get what you want."  
  
Crocus paused for a moment.  
  
"Alright," she said. "It's a deal."  
  
Keios held out a hand to shake hers with. She took it, shivered at how cold it was, and shook it.  
  
"By the way," Crocus started after letting go of his hand. "What is the name of the young man you want my shifters to go after?"  
  
"His name," Keios responded with a frown, "is McKenzie."  
  
~~~  
  
A girl on a skateboard weaved through the streets of Goldenrod City. She hadn't changed, save for the shorter hair, except for the first few locks of hair, close to her face, which had been dyed blue. She wore her usual street clothing: baggy jeans, a white tee-shirt with blue sleeves (on which was a black 8), black biker gloves, and red sneakers. On her back was a black backpack.  
  
She didn't feel like returning home just yet, so she skated throughout Goldenrod. She reached a part which her mother had told her countless times to avoid, a run-down part of the city which had its walls covered in graffiti.  
  
She wasn't scared, though.  
  
Suddenly, someone pushed her off her skateboard. She fell on the ground, grabbed her board, and stood right back up, ready to crack her board across the face of whomever had the nerve to touch her.  
  
"Who the hell did that!?" she snapped.  
  
"Shut your mouth, baby."  
  
In front of her were several larger people, all dressed in baggy clothing, all a few years older than the girl was, and all with dangerous looks.  
  
"Don't call call me 'baby', ass hole," the girl hissed.  
  
"Didn't your mommy ever tell you it's not nice to swear at people bigger than you are?" another thug asked. "How old are you, pipsqueak?"  
  
"I'm fourteen, but I can still kick all of your asses," she replied.  
  
"Really?" The second thug smirked. "I'd like to see that..."  
  
He pounded his fist into his hand, threatening to start a fight. Just then, a larger and older boy (possibly the leader) grabbed him by the shoulder.  
  
"Don't," the larger man said. "I think she's good enough for our posse." He looked at the girl. "What's your name?"  
  
"People call me Jude,"*3* she replied. "You'd better too."  
  
"Jude, how would you like to join our gang?"  
  
"I don't join in. I make my own group."  
  
The leader smiled. "Yeah? Well, I'll let you think about it. If you want to do something fun, come back to this side of town."  
  
"Whatever," Jude replied as she put down her board and skated away.  
  
~~~  
  
Ziggy cocked her head. "So... You had a dream about Zero."  
  
Bill stopped for a moment. He was bent over a counter, working on a new device. He straightened up and turned a bit to look at Ziggy.  
  
"And?"  
  
"What did she say?" Ziggy questioned.  
  
He turned back to the counter and continued. "She said that a darkness will come and that my destiny has something to do with it."  
  
"Is that it?"  
  
"She also said that it will attack three times, but by the third time, I will have 'mastered my powers.'"  
  
"Mastered them? How much further can you control them?"  
  
Bill sighed. "I can't control where I go, nor can I consciously control what I go into without contact.*4* I suppose that there will be a time when can aquire these skills."  
  
"Wow. You're going to be one powerful little twerp," she commented.  
  
Bill smirked. "Thank you, Ziggy."  
  
"By the way, Bill..."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Up for a shift?"  
  
He turned around and leaned against the counter. "I thought you'd never ask."  
  
Quickly, he shifted out.  
  
~~~  
  
Crocus stormed through the lab door.  
  
"Chester! Give me a status report!" she demanded.  
  
The assistant wove through the chaos and approached Crocus.  
  
"Doctor, we have good news and bad news," Chester reported. "The good news is that the technological experts have successfully penetrated McKenzie's cyber defenses and hacked into his Alpha program. We can now track his every move through his 'Ziggy.'"  
  
Crocus smiled. "Good! But the bad news...?"  
  
"The bad news is that, apparently, he's currently on the move," Chester added. "Alpha has set coordinates in Goldenrod City, but neither she nor her shifter have arrived yet."  
  
Crocus chuckled. "Chester, remember to look up the definition of 'bad news' on your break."  
  
Chester cocked his head. "Um... Okay... Doctor."  
  
"But seriously, send Oracle along with Agents Daphne and Theo. I'm sure McKenzie would be happy to see us again..."  
  
"Yes, doctor."  
  
~~~  
  
Jude opened the front door to her home and walked in without a second thought to time. Her mother, however, rushed over and tried to speak sternly with her.  
  
"Judith McKenzie, where have you been!?" the mother inquired sharply.  
  
"Out," Jude replied with barely any tone.  
  
"It's nine forty-five at night, on a school night, no less," Mrs. McKenzie stated. "Do you know how much I've worried about you?"  
  
"Not really," Jude responded as she headed toward her room.  
  
"Why can't you be like your brother or sister?" Flora sighed.  
  
"Because I don't want to be an airhead like my sister, and my brother is Heaven's ultra-rare, 'dear god, we're not doing THAT again' gift to mortals?" the daughter answered before walking into her room and shutting the door.  
  
Flora could only sigh, give a saddened look, and walk away, shaking her head.  
  
~~~  
  
Jude dropped her backpack on the floor and picked up a PokéBall. She smiled, knowing what was inside.  
  
"Cyndaquil! I choose you!"  
  
The fire mouse obediently appeared. Jude sighed.  
  
"Ignored by my so-called friends, laughed at by preps, spoken to by strangers in the ghetto, and lectured to by teachers on my 'attitude problem.'"  
  
She picked Cyndaquil up and held it in her arms as she flopped on her back on her bed.  
  
"You're probably the only one who gets me, Cyndaquil," she commented.  
  
"Cynda!"  
  
She smirked, placed Cyndaquil beside her, and curled up next to it. Within moments, she was fast asleep.  
  
She didn't notice as a silver light descended into it.  
  
Bill blinked, looked down at his sister, and carefully moved off the bed so as not to disturb her.  
  
{Jude?} He cocked his head. {What am I doing here? Ziggy?}  
  
Ziggy appeared.  
  
"Aww... Your sister looks cute when she's asleep and not wreaking havoc!"  
  
{My thoughts exactly,} Bill replied. {What am I doing here?}  
  
"Well, you see..." Ziggy put her hands behind her head. "Your sister isn't exactly what you would call a happy child. She's one of those punks and skater girls who just hate, well, everything."  
  
{And this I know far too well.}  
  
"Right. Well, a few hours ago, she got this offer to... join a gang."  
  
{WHAT!?}  
  
Jude groaned a bit and turned over. Ziggy and Bill remained still and silent for a few moments, watching to see if she would wake up. When nothing happened, the conversation resumed.  
  
{What?} Bill reacted, much softer than last time.  
  
"She received an offer to join a gang," Ziggy restated. "And if things don't improve, she's going to join it. And to initiate, you of course need to do something... I dunno... illegal?"  
  
{But Jude wouldn't do something as stupid as join a gang... Would she?}  
  
"Bill, how long has it been since you've lived with her?"  
  
Bill paused for a moment to remember. {Seven years.}  
  
"Think, Bill. People can change in the space of seven years."  
  
Bill's face went red with embarrassment. {Alright, alright. I see your point. Now, I suppose I'm here to stop Jude from joining this gang?}  
  
"That's part of it."  
  
{What would the other part be?}  
  
"The other part is, after you stop Jude from joining the gang, you have to get her to drop the 'I hate the world' act and help her onto a better path. It's not going to be easy. Do you think you can get her to do all that?"  
  
{I hope so,} Bill replied with a shudder. {I don't want to see my own sister wind up in jail or worse.}*5*  
  
"I don't know if you remember or not, but if you don't, just keep in mind one thing: Jude's as stubborn than a Tauros on a hot day. Got it?"  
  
{Trust me. THAT I know. She gets it from my father's side of the family.}  
  
Ziggy smiled and nodded. "Good luck, Bill."  
  
{Thanks, Ziggy.}  
  
In an instant, she was gone. Bill looked up at his sleeping sister.  
  
{Oh boy...}  
  
~~~  
  
The sun rose again. This time, he awoke to find himself on an empty bed. Jude must have left a few hours ago...  
  
"Judith! What about your homework!?"  
  
"Geez, Mom! It's SATURDAY!"  
  
Jude opened the door to her room, rolled her eyes, and began picking things up off the cluttered floor, only to put them in a second black backpack. She finally straightened up and put on her backpack. After this, she looked over at Bill, and picked up her skateboard in one hand and him with the other.  
  
As she walked out of the room, the two heard their mother call out, "Judith, don't tell me you've left a mess in your room again!"  
  
"It's not a mess, Mom," Jude replied as she put her Cyndaquil on her shoulder and opened the front door. "It's organized chaos."  
  
Bill smiled inwardly in nostalgia. He used to use the same excuse on his mother all the time.  
  
~~~  
  
Bill found the ordinary Saturday which his sister lived to be... well... different from the one he had imagined. She wasn't the hooligan she made herself out to be or others made her out to be, nor was she the cutesy twerp he always thought of his younger sister as. She was... Just normal. She had her normal friends, which she hung out with at the arcade and the Pokémon Center; she did her normal chores, running errands for her mother obediently (despite how ironic that was), and she had her normal teenaged thoughts which she shared with Bill (though she thought he was just her Cyndaquil) as she skated through the streets of Goldenrod.  
  
"I know this is one of my old complaints," she once said, "but sometimes I feel as if I don't belong in this family. Everyone has their own talents. Dad's good at guessing numbers, and I know because he never became so broke at the casino that he had to gamble away our last penny and force us into the ghetto. Mom's this graceful dancer and world-famous flower arranger, and some people think she's even better than Martha Stewart and Eliza Manelli put together. Penny's popularity is unbelieveable, and she's a good singer to boot, even if she's a major airhead. Then you've got Bill, who's so friggin' smart he's probably had NASA begging to have him work for them. And don't get me started on grandparents and other relatives."  
  
She sighed. "But me? I'm just the punk kid who can't do anything right... except intentionally piss adults off."  
  
'I didn't think she thought that way,' Bill thought upon listening to this. 'Then again, I admit Jude and I have never been truly close...'  
  
"Sometimes I wish I was special," Jude added. "That I was born with a real special talent. Right now, I don't feel like I'm good enough to be called a McKenzie."  
  
At this point, Bill wished he could speak to her to tell her that old but true saying. She was special in her own little way, even if it might not have anything to do with popularity or grace or... Well, you get the idea.  
  
Jude passed through the ghetto again. It only took a few minutes before the gang stopped her.  
  
"Hey, Jude,"*6* the leader greeted. "Have you thought about it?"  
  
Jude put one foot on the ground and carefully concidered joining. If she couldn't do anything right, then what's the point? Maybe if she joined the gang, she'll find a little talent in gangwork. It wasn't anything her parents would be proud of, but it would be a talent nonetheless. Besides, she'd feel as if she'd really belong (she never did in her usual setting), and anytime someone gave her trouble, she'd have backup.  
  
Jude looked at the leader and opened her mouth to answer. At this moment, Bill jumped off her shoulder, landed on the cement, took a deep breath, and used Ember.  
  
The gang went wild, trying to put out the flames which caught the leader on fire. Jude screamed, picked Bill up, and skated as fast as she could away from there, knowing that this wouldn't end too well.  
  
~~~  
  
"Why did you do that!?" Jude whispered as she entered the house, just a few hours after the sun set.  
  
Her mother greeted her, but she didn't reply as she went immediately to her (recently cleaned, thanks to Mrs. McKenzie) room.  
  
{I had to do my job SOMEHOW,} Bill replied, ignoring the fact that she couldn't understand him.  
  
"But... I guess... If you didn't want me to join, then maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all," she figured.  
  
{No kidding.}  
  
"Thanks, Cyndaquil."  
  
{Anything for you, Jude.}  
  
"But I guess I'll have to stay away from the ghetto from now on. Nice shot though."  
  
{I suppose I went a bit overboard, though...}  
  
Jude smiled and flopped on her bed. She reached down to where Bill sat beside the edge, picked him up, and put him on the bed beside her.  
  
"What would I do without you, Cyndaquil?" she muttered. "Good night..."  
  
She yawned and closed her eyes, tired from the day. Bill smiled, jumped off the bed, and curled up on the spot where he landed.  
  
{Sweet dreams, Jude.}  
  
~~~  
  
The clock in the hallway struck midnight. Just as it had, a ghostly figure slipped through the wall. Gengar landed beside Bill and stood still for a moment.  
  
The room seemed to drop in temperature,*7* and this woke Bill up. Cyndaquil naturally have poor vision,*8* so he couldn't see the uninvited visitor. But he knew it was there.  
  
{Who's there?}  
  
{A guest from Antiwarp, McKenzie,} the Gengar replied. {I'm here to escort you to my employer.}  
  
Before Bill could react, Gengar used Hypnosis. The fire mouse was fast asleep within moments, allowing the ghost to pick him up and carry him away.*9*  
  
Jude sat up, startled. She had been awakened when she heard her Cyndaquil's cries, and she could make out everything that was happening in the dark of the night.  
  
Quickly, she gathered a few things, opened a window, and slipped into Goldenrod's nighttime scene to follow the Gengar.  
  
~~~  
  
Bill slowly woke up... and found himself in a cage. He sat up abruptly and gasped.  
  
{Where am I...?}  
  
It obviously was a warehouse, dimly-lit by fluorescent lights. Here and there, there were wooden crates, but his cage itself sat on the cement floor, rather than wood.  
  
He knew he had to get out and fast, so he tossed all questions aside and used Ember on the bars. A few minutes later, he stopped and struck the bars with a Tackle.  
  
The bars did nothing. In fact, they weren't even warm.  
  
{Flame-resistant,} Bill muttered. {Ziggy!}  
  
{You won't be seeing her for awhile...}  
  
He looked over and saw Gengar standing next to a girl in something similar to a black Rocket uniform, only missing the R.  
  
{Where am I?} Bill demanded.  
  
"Relax, McKenzie," the girl replied. "You're with us now, and neither Theo--" She motioned to the Gengar. "--Or myself, Daphne, are doing anything to you until we receive orders from our boss."  
  
{Who is this boss of yours?} Bill asked cautiously before realizing something. {And how can you understand me?}  
  
No one noticed as Jude slipped in and hid herself among a pile of crates in a corner nearby.  
  
"Our boss is Dr. Crocus," the girl answered. "She's the head scientist for Project Antiwarp, not to mention the inventor of the Pokémon-to-human translator I'm using to understand you and the signal scrambler that's keeping your Ziggy's signal from reaching you."  
  
{Antiwarp...} Bill growled.  
  
"Surprised, Bill?" Daphne inquired.  
  
Jude's eyes widened as she whispered, "...Bill...?"  
  
"Don't be," Daphne continued. "Even without Loki OR Team Rocket, we do just fine. Especially now that we've got a new source for funding..."  
  
{What...?} Bill began.  
  
"Unfortunately, we still need a thing or two from Warp and especially you, McKenzie," Daphne said, ignoring him. "Sure, we know how to control WHEN one would shift -- which, myself, I'd rather not do because I'd rather not be inside of a Pokémon body -- but we still don't know how to control where one would go and into what. That's what we need from you."  
  
{You won't get anything from me,} Bill replied. {I don't know how either.}  
  
{You're a pathetic liar, McKenzie,} Theo muttered before executing a Night Shade.  
  
Jude gasped and was about to rush out of her hiding place when a white Sneasel and a Marowak smashed through the ceiling.  
  
At this point, Bill's hope was restored. {Artemis!}  
  
"You look like you need a little help, shifter friend of mine," Artemis commented as he approached the cage.  
  
{I'll take care of these clowns; you get the Prime out of there,} Apollo, inside Marowak, instructed.  
  
"Well, duh," Artemis muttered as he used his claws to try to pick the lock.  
  
Jude slipped away, just as Apollo used Bonemerang, sending both agents into a wall. Daphne was immediately knocked out on impact, but Theo wasn't about to give up.  
  
{Alright, punk! Try this!} Theo leapt forward and used Night Shade.  
  
With ease, Apollo twirled Marowak's bone in front of him, deflecting the black energy... for the most part. Though he was struck by part of the attack, he remained undazed and able to throw his bone again in a Bonemerang attack. It struck Theo once more, but once again, the Gengar stood up, ready to fight again.  
  
{Let's see you get away from this!} Theo yelled as he brought his hands together, forming a black ball.  
  
Within moments, the ball grew to the size of a basketball. Theo threw this as one of the strongest Ghost-type attack known, Shadow Ball.  
  
However, in a fit of humor, Apollo positioned himself like a baseball player and swung his "bat" (aka his bone) forward, striking the ball as if it were a baseball, sending it right back to the pitcher.  
  
Theo was struck head-on and was once again sent flying into the wall. This time, he didn't get back to his feet, and a dull, brown light ascended from the Gengar's body and disappeared.  
  
"Screw this!"  
  
Apollo looked over to see Artemis withdraw his claw from the cage lock and swing both his claws across the bars in a Slash attack. A few moments later, the metal completely broke apart, freeing Bill.  
  
{Out of curiousity, why didn't you do that in the first place?} Bill asked.  
  
"Shut up," Artemis replied. "At least I got you out."  
  
{Come on, we'll lead you back,} Apollo said. {I suggest we leave before these two wake up.}  
  
Bill nodded and followed Artemis and Apollo out of the building.  
  
As soon as they were gone, Oracle appeared.  
  
"Mistress sent the three of us here to keep McKenzie in place so she could pick him up and experiment on him to find a way to get rid of his shifting ability," Oracle mumbled. "And THESE two screw up the job! Mistress won't like this at all..."  
  
She turned around swiftly and disappeared.  
  
~~~  
  
Artemis and Apollo led Bill back to his family's home, stuck around to be thanked, and left. Bill was left to finish the rest of his mission.  
  
However, inside the house, Jude remained in her bed (because dawn hadn't occurred yet) and went over what she heard.  
  
'Bill...? Able to go into Pokémon bodies?' She stared at the ceiling. 'Weird. But then again, how do I know if it's the truth? On the other hand, Cyndaquil HAS been acting strange lately, and a former Rocket, like Daphne claimed to be, wouldn't be after Cyndaquil if there wasn't anything special about him...'  
  
She closed her eyes as she heard someone entering the room. Cyndaquil.  
  
'But... If it's true,' Jude thought, 'then... It's not my brother, right? I mean, sure he's weird, but... not THAT weird, right? Besides, Bill McKenzie is a common name. It could be ANYONE. Then again...'  
  
She shut her eyes tighter.  
  
'It DOES explain why he went missing for a few days on Penny's birthday. Not only that, but also why he's suddenly gotten quieter than usual... and why Cyndaquil was acting kinda like him...'  
  
She opened her eyes and looked over, making out the outline of her Cyndaquil's body in the diminishing darkness. He was already asleep.  
  
'Bill...'  
  
~~~  
  
It was quite surprising, but all of a sudden, Jude had seemed to clean up her act. She started being loving to her parents and quite polite, and she behaved herself in church and at home, not to mention the fact that she actually did her homework later on. Bill found no stay and shifted back when he was sure his mission was done.  
  
However, the REAL reason why Jude was acting differently was only because she wanted something. She finally approached her mother about it that afternoon.  
  
"Mother," Jude addressed politely. "If I remain well-behaved for the rest of the week, may I go to visit my dear older brother?"  
  
Flora smiled and looked toward her husband, sitting at the table. He had no readable expression because his head was nearly completely hidden behind a newspaper, save for his straight, dark hair with strands of gray in it.  
  
"I think you can go now," Flora said. "What do you think, Charles?*10*"  
  
Her husband grunted and looked at her with his hazel eyes.  
  
"Wouldn't William be a good influence on our Judith?" Flora asked.  
  
Charles grunted again. "If she wants to go, let her. But if our little girl comes back weird, that boy will have a piece of my mind!"  
  
Flora looked at Jude, blushing slightly with embarrassment, before giving her a nod.  
  
~~~  
  
A week had passed, and Bill was once again in the cellar, working on that device.  
  
"I guess it felt nice to help your sister," Ziggy commented.  
  
"My family means more to me than Pokémon," Bill stated. "Of COURSE it felt nice to help her!"  
  
"You sound worried."  
  
Bill sighed. "I'm just worried that Jude will run into some other sort of trouble, and when she does, I won't be around to help her."  
  
"Not every older brother can save their sister ALL the time," Ziggy pointed out.  
  
Bill smiled lightly. "How true. But I can't help but think about her..."  
  
"I wish I could give you sympathy, but I'm not quite familiar with how you feel." Ziggy gave him a sly grin. "Maybe if you gave me a little sister..."  
  
Bill straightened up and turned to face her. "Ziggy, do you honestly think I'm that gullible?"  
  
She shrugged. "It was worth a try."  
  
Bill rolled his eyes and turned back to his work just as the doorbell rang. He looked up.  
  
"Hmm... Someone bothered to come up this way? Probably just a Ledyba Scout*11* desperate for someone to by her cookies," Bill joked.  
  
"Ooh! Ledyba Scout Cookies!" Ziggy smiled. "Could you buy me some, please?"  
  
Bill turned around to give her a curious glance. "Why? You don't eat."  
  
"Oh yeah..."  
  
Bill rolled his eyes once more and continued upstairs to answer the door.  
  
~~~  
  
He opened the door. There stood Jude with a suitcase by her side.  
  
"J-Jude?" Bill blinked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Can't I visit my dear older brother?" she asked with a smile.  
  
"You never did before."  
  
'If she comes to stay here, and if I shift out during that time, how will I explain it to her?' he asked himself mentally.  
  
He spoke aloud. "I'm sorry, Jude. I'd love to have you over for a visit, but I'm working on a project and don't really have time for interruptions."  
  
She gave him a solemn look as she looked into his eyes.  
  
"Maybe if I told you the truth, you'll let me stay," Jude said before she took a deep breath. "Bill, I know about Warp."  
  
Bill's eyes widened. He could find nothing to say.  
  
***  
  
End episode 11  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: This is a pun on a pun. You see, there really IS a type of Clematis (which is a flower, by the way) called Bill McKenzie. If you don't believe me, look it up yourself. Now, whether or not the webmaster(s) of Pokémon World (the website which had for a long time until recently called Bill "McKenzie"... which is odd for an "official website"...) knew this is not actually known, but I highly doubt they did, making this one quirky coincidence. O_o;  
  
*2*: Pronounced exactly like "chaos".  
  
*3*: Just for the record, if anyone's interested, Jude wasn't named after the cute Beatles song that constantly gets stuck in Mai-chan's head. ("Hey, Jude/Don't make it bad/Take a sad song and make it better/Remember to let her into your heart..." Aww, craters...) Jude actually received her name from British actress Dame Judi Dench. (I just modified it a bit to make it fit tomboyish Jude.) Penny received her name from a similar source -- actress Penelope Keith. (Both, by the way, are stars of two of my absolute favorite Britcoms, As Time Goes By and To the Manor Born, respectively, among other programs and movies. ^_-)  
  
*4*: I apologize to Light Sneasel for misleading him. Bill (nor any shifter, for that matter, except Apollo -- but more on Apollo later) CAN'T control which Pokémon he goes into... at will at least. However, if he ever touched a Pokémon (or a human, i.e. Loki, as seen in "Trading Spaces") and shifted out, he would shift into the Pokémon he touched. So, in a sense, you're right, but, alas, not completely. ^_^;  
  
*5*: Um... The "or worse" would be referring to the fact that... he doesn't want Jude to get killed in a gang fight!!  
  
*6*: I swear to god, this isn't a pun. o.o;  
  
*7*: Supposedly, if a ghost is nearby, the temperature drops drastically in the room (or area, depending on whether the ghost haunts the outdoors or the indoors) it had arrived in.  
  
*8*: Or at least I think they do. I'm sure they would, as, like Brock and Wobbuffet, Cyndaquil don't open their eyes. ^_^;  
  
*9*: I can't explain how Gengar got Bill through the wall. Why would I need to? I'm currently thinking of the Pepsi commercial where Casper (the friendly ghost) tries to get a can of Pepsi out of a refrigerator but can't because the can is a physical object, kinda like a certain fiery mouse would be. o_o;  
  
*10*: This would be a pun. I've named Bill's father Charles in reference to the British princes. Get it? Prince Charles and Prince William? (Too bad I can't fit in a pun with Prince Harry... ^_^;)  
  
*11*: In reference to the Girl Scouts, but it's also a pun on A Bug's Life. (If I can remember correctly, Dot was a member of the Ladybug Scouts, something similar to the Girl Scouts. ^_^) 


	3. Antivirus

Foreword: On this week's foreword, I'd like to once again express my amazement that the story has actually reached sixteen chapters (twelve "story" chapters, three "extras" chapters, and one "prelude/extra" chapter). Usually, I only make it to one to four chapters (If you ever join the MFC and look for my old, OLD stories of "So This is What It's Like"/"Welcome to My World" and "MFC Survivor", you'll find yourself reading good examples of that.), but something happened somewhere along the line, forcing me to keep writing. Though, hai, I DO have you to thank (Leaving poor LS-sama wondering if he's right about Zero or not is something unthinkable. ^_^;), I admit that my own interest in finding out what I did next to the cute li'l Pokémon researcher kept me writing. It's this interest which had been absent in my previous stories, which is one of the reasons why I'm amazed at THIS story.  
  
Of course, then came the reviews. People out there (not just the MFC) literally wrote that they loved the story. It's the fact that so many people enjoy this that helped me produce more of the story so that others online with nothing better to do can stumble across it and, like you, entertain themselves. It makes me happy that people whose names I've never heard of until they review find that they can't help but enjoy the world I've created for them, regardless of whether or not they might think Bill is an utter moron. (Side note: Please don't insult Bill in the review box. That's not the point of it. -_-) And when I'm happy, I'm inspired, and when I'm inspired, I write. So, yes, this is why I thank you for keeping the story going for so long. Domo arigatou! =D  
  
Anywho, all babbling aside. On with the show!  
  
***  
Episode 12--  
Antivirus  
  
Jude smiled. "It's true!"  
  
Bill turned away from her, facing the interior of his lighthouse.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Bill finally replied.  
  
"You can go into Pokémon bodies, can't you?" Jude asked.  
  
"If you can call wearing a Pokémon costume going into Pokémon bodies," he answered. "Do Mom and Dad know you're here?"  
  
"Of course. But they don't know I came because I wanted to help."  
  
"Help? Why would I need help?"  
  
"You would need help with Warp, wouldn't you?"  
  
Bill sighed, trying to keep himself from completely revealing everything he wanted to keep secret to his family.  
  
"You have an active imagination, Jude," Bill commented.  
  
"Bill, I know it's true!" she insisted. "I know you can shift! I know you're part of Warp, whatever it is, and I know it was you in Cyndaquil!"  
  
Bill's eyes widened once more, but his back was turned toward Jude, so she couldn't see.  
  
"What are you talking about?" he asked.  
  
"You... I don't know how you did it, but you went into Cyndaquil," Jude explained. "MY Cyndaquil. It was you who kept me from joining a gang, and it was you who had been taken away by those creeps Dr. Crocus ordered around! I followed Gengar, and I heard everything they said!"  
  
Bill paused for a moment, turned around a bit, and began to close the door. Jude stopped him from closing the door completely.  
  
"Bill!" she cried.  
  
"Go back to Goldenrod, Jude," he said to her. "You shouldn't be here."  
  
"It's true then, isn't it?"  
  
Frankly, she was beginning to get on Bill's nerves. "No, it's not true!"  
  
"Quit lying to me!" she yelled.  
  
There was a period of silence. He gave her a stern look as she gave him a determined one. Finally, he was the one who gave in. His look softened as he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.  
  
"It's true, then?" she inquired.  
  
"Yes, it is, Jude," Bill replied. "I can shift, which means I can transfer my mind and soul into Pokémon bodies. However..." He once again gave her a grave look. "You must never tell ANYONE about it. Not a single soul. Promise me."  
  
"I promise," she vowed.  
  
"Good. Then go back to Goldenrod and never speak of this again."  
  
"WHAT!?"  
  
"Go back to Goldenrod and never speak of this again," Bill repeated.  
  
"But..." Jude blinked. "But I want to stay here and help you!"  
  
"If you stay here, you'll only be in danger," he told her. "A lot of people are after me because of my ability. I can't risk putting you in the middle of all of this!"  
  
"I can handle it!"  
  
"Jude..." Bill sighed. "You're my sister. I don't want to have anything bad happen to you."  
  
"There won't be anything BAD happening to me!" she argued.  
  
"Jude!"  
  
"Come on!" Jude pulled out a PokéBall. "I'm strong enough to take care of myself!"  
  
He growled. "I have NEVER met anyone so arrogant, so cocky, so foolish, so absolutely stubborn, so..."  
  
"So much like you were when you were my age?" Jude raised an eyebrow.  
  
He paused, as he was caught off guard by this sudden (yet actually accurate) remark. "Touché."  
  
"So...?"  
  
Bill sighed once more. "I can see that you won't quit until you have your way. Alright. You may stay here, but please, just do as I say. You'll get in less trouble if you're not the one causing it."  
  
For the first time in her life, she hugged him. "Thank you!"  
  
'I hope she'll be okay. I won't be able to watch over her if I'm on a shift,' Bill thought as he waited for her to let go.  
  
~~~  
  
"So, Agents Daphne and Theo have failed," Crocus repeated as she paced around her office.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mistress," Oracle apologized again. "There was no way I could stop any of it."  
  
"It's alright," Crocus responded, maintaining calmness before turning to Chester, who stood beside Oracle. "Chester, do you have any suggestions?"  
  
"I'm sorry, doctor, but the team can't come up with anything," Chester replied.  
  
Crocus paced again.  
  
"Of course!" Crocus said, as she realized something. "In his original report, McKenzie stated that the changes that caused him to become a shifter had been done to his DNA. Perhaps if we can study a sample of his DNA, we can figure out a way to undo these changes..."  
  
Crocus turned to both of her employees.  
  
"Oracle! Send two agents to McKenzie's lighthouse and have two others send a virus into his Alpha program as a distraction. Chester, give the two going to the lighthouse any equipment needed to take any sort of sample you need, preferably blood sample," Crocus ordered.  
  
"Yes, ma'am!" both responded before scrambling out.  
  
"Crocus," Keios addressed. "Status report."  
  
"One failure so far, Master," she replied. "However, I believe we're on to something now."  
  
"You had better hope so," Keios responded. "I want McKenzie dead before he can realize his full potential..."  
  
~~~  
  
Bill was in a guest room, helping Jude unpack. He attempted several times to make conversation with her without talking about Warp, but because the two weren't too close to one another, he didn't know what topic would interest her.  
  
Finally, he came up with a topic of universal interest as soon as the last article of clothing had been stored away.  
  
"Would you like something to eat?" he asked.  
  
"Oh... Is your cook here?" she inquired cautiously.  
  
"No, she's still on vacation," he replied.  
  
"In that case, I'm not hungry."  
  
"I was thinking about ordering something from a Chinese restaurant in town, but if you're not hungry..."  
  
"In that case, I'm starving."  
  
"Alright then..." He paused. "Wait... What was that all about!?"  
  
"No offense or anything, but from what I've heard, you're a terrible cook," Jude said lightly.  
  
He cocked his head. "Terrible?"  
  
Jude smiled. "You flunked the required cooking course in home ec. when you went to Westwood Academy. Not to mention you set fire to the home ec. room there on five separate occasions."  
  
He laughed. "Okay! So I can't cook. Everybody has their flaws, and mine is the fact that everything I've made in the kitchen should be classified as radioactive."  
  
Jude cautiously joined him in laughing before slowly loosening up. It actually felt kinda good to her, sitting there with her brother whom she barely knows, enjoying a good joke... even if that joke had been one's insult to himself.  
  
"But you were wrong. I didn't set fire to the kitchen five times; I set fire to the kitchen three times," Bill admitted before reluctantly adding, "The other two times, I set fire to myself."  
  
~~~  
  
A few minutes later, Bill led Jude down into the cellar. After all, he HAD to show her around if she was going to stay there.  
  
"This is where you work?" she asked in awe as soon as she could see the state of the cellar.  
  
"For the most part, yes," he replied.  
  
"I've always imagined it to be... a hell of a lot neater..."  
  
He smiled, then noticed the computer was still on.  
  
"What took you so long!?" Ziggy asked.  
  
"Sorry Ziggy," he apologized.  
  
Jude jumped. "Woah! What is THAT!?"  
  
"THAT would be Zigurat Alpha, known to Bill as Ziggy," Ziggy replied. "And you're Jude, huh?"  
  
"Yeah. How'd you know?" Jude blinked as she walked forward to the computer.  
  
"Ziggy knows everything," she replied with a grin.  
  
"Actually, she wishes she could," Bill told Jude with a grin. "Now that you know about Warp, I can tell you exactly what role she place in it. She is my informational database, my aide, and my guide, especially when I'm on a shift. And when I'm not on a shift, she keeps me company."  
  
Jude blinked. "So, in other words, she's your cyber girlfriend."  
  
Ziggy blushed, but Bill rolled his eyes.  
  
"She's NOT my cyber girlfriend," Bill responded in a cold tone. "I'm not that desperate."  
  
They both looked at him with skeptical glances.  
  
Bill shrugged. "Well, I'm not."  
  
Both girls continued to stare.  
  
"I think I'll..." Bill motioned behind him to the cellar steps. "I'll go place that order now."  
  
Quickly, he ran off and up the stairs.  
  
There was a period of silence. Ziggy and Jude looked at each other, smiled, and burst out laughing.  
  
~~~  
  
It didn't take long for Bill to place the order for Chinese food, but he gave Ziggy and Jude a few minutes to calm themselves from laughing. Or at least Ziggy.  
  
He returned downstairs cautiously. Ziggy was talking endlessly, and Jude was looking around. Jude looked up and smiled before pointing to the device Bill had been working on earlier in the day.  
  
"What's this?" she asked.  
  
Ziggy stopped talking.  
  
"I don't... actually know," Bill replied. "I know how to build it and how it works, but I don't know what it's for or why I'm building it."  
  
"Weird..." Jude blinked. "Then why don't you stop?"  
  
Bill shrugged. "I can't."  
  
He looked over at the device. It was actually two, but it appeared as one. The first part was a visor, Sailor Mercury-style, and headset. The second was a PokéDex-like device, only completely black.  
  
"It's almost done, so I suppose I'll find out what it's for soon," Bill added.  
  
Jude was about to reply, but suddenly, there was a noise upstairs. The three fell silent.  
  
"What was that?" Jude asked cautiously.  
  
Bill shook his head. "I don't know."  
  
Even Ziggy remained silent as they listened. Footsteps... upstairs. Across the ceiling, and... Stop.  
  
Complete silence.  
  
All of a sudden, there was an explosion. Startled, Bill grabbed Jude and pulled her to the floor with him. He looked over her and beyond a table to see an Electrode rolled down the steps, taking the door with it along with a cloud of smoke.  
  
"What the hell!?" Jude screamed.  
  
The cloud of smoke cleared, revealing a pair of teens in black. The first was a girl with ruby-red eyes and shining, blonde hair done in a braid on the left side of her head, pigtail style, touching her left shoulder. Her partner was a young man with fire-red hair and pale blue eyes.  
  
"Allow us to introduce ourselves," they said in unison.  
  
"Twin stars, shining bright!" the girl announced.  
  
"We'll dazzle you with our soulful light!" the boy added.  
  
"Two royals in our dark kingdom-side!"  
  
"Spreading our empire far and wide!"  
  
The girl struck a pose. "Capella!"  
  
The boy followed. "Sirius!"*1*  
  
"Er... EX Rockets, blasting brighter than a supernova's flash!"  
  
"Surrender now; you won't win the clash!"  
  
By this time, both brother and sister stood up, looked at each other, and blinked.  
  
"You know, I've lived in a big city for pretty much my whole life," Jude said. "I've heard a lot of Team Rocket mottoes, but that's the first time I've heard a motto THAT pathetic."  
  
"Hey! It took us a long time to write that!" Capella sniffed. "Rude little girl!"  
  
Jude rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Geez. Don't quit your day job."  
  
"What was that!?" Capella snapped.  
  
"Nothing." Jude narrowed her eyes and smirked.  
  
"Anyways, we came here for a reason," Sirius said. "We want something from you, Bill. Why don't you cooperate and give us what we want?"  
  
"Because I'm not stupid?" Bill suggested.  
  
"Well, then we've got a little surprise for you," Capella told him. "We've uploaded and activated a virus on your cute little Ziggy that can completely disable then delete her, and we've got the program that DEactivates it." She held up a disc. "If you like your cute little toy at all, you'll cooperate."  
  
Bill looked behind him at the computer. Already, the virus must have taken effect. Ziggy was already frozen and pixelated.  
  
"I don't have to do anything for you!" Bill replied to Capella and Sirius as he activated an antivirus program.  
  
Unfortunately, the program was slow, and the virus was quick. Ziggy was getting worse fast, but the program still hadn't gotten to her yet.  
  
Suddenly, Jude yelped, and Bill felt a pinch on his arm. He looked over to see Sirius holding Jude back while Capella put a needle in a box. Jude stomped on Sirius as Capella backed away. Soon, Sirius joined her near the steps.  
  
"So you don't want to cooperate," Sirius growled. "Suit yourself."  
  
Capella picked up Electrode and threw out a smoke bomb. When the smoke cleared, the ex Rockets were gone, and Ziggy was 25% down.  
  
"It STILL hasn't treated her," Bill told Jude as he noticed the status of the antivirus program.  
  
"So what are you going to do?" Jude asked with a worried glance. "Ziggy's really cool, and I'd hate to see her destroyed by a virus."  
  
"My thoughts exactly," he replied as he pulled a PokéBall from a desk drawer. "Inside this lies what may be the key to saving Ziggy."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Porygon! Go!"  
  
At his command, the pink and blue Pokémon appeared and hovered in place.  
  
"What do you plan on doing?" Jude asked.  
  
"If I can shift into Porygon and pass into my computer's mainframe, there's a chance that I could bring the antivirus program to Ziggy," Bill explained.  
  
"A chance?" Jude blinked. "What do you mean by 'a chance'?"  
  
"Well, every Porygon is made of data," he responded. "If this virus is corrupting data and deleting it, then there's a chance that, if I make one wrong move, I could end up deleting my host before the virus gets Ziggy."  
  
"And if your host is deleted...?"  
  
"Then I go with it."  
  
"One question. ARE YOU CRAZY!?"  
  
Bill shrugged. "Maybe."  
  
He placed his hands on Porygon's head and concentrated. Within moments, he blacked out.  
  
~~~  
  
Jude had watched Bill shift and could only stand by as he passed into his computer.*2* And just like that, she was alone in the cellar, only able to watch Ziggy continue to endure the virus.  
  
"Oh, man! I wish there was something I could do..." Jude muttered as she stared at the computer. "But what?"  
  
Behind her, she heard a ringing. She turned around to find a glow on the black PokéDex-like device. Cautiously, she went over to it and saw the screen glowing in a white light.  
  
"Jude," a voice addressed her softly.  
  
"Who is this?" she asked as she picked up the device.  
  
"My name is Zero," the voice replied through the device. "I am yet another being who has helped your brother with his mission to help those in need. And now it is your time to join Ziggy and become a watcher."  
  
"A watcher?"  
  
"Yes, Jude. One who watches over shifters, like your brother, while guiding them through whatever situation they may be in. Do you choose to join many around the world like you?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"If I said your brother needs you now, would this sway your decision?"  
  
Jude blinked. "He needs me?"  
  
"Of course," Zero replied. "At this very moment, Bill is lost within his own computer as he tries to search for Ziggy. Three lives, that of Ziggy, of Porygon, and of your brother, all rest on your next decision."  
  
"Woah... Wicked," Jude muttered. "Alright. Tell me what to do."  
  
"Though consciously, he doesn't know it, I've asked Bill to make these for you," Zero explained. "The visor and the rest of the headgear are equipment that allow you to see Bill and his environment while transmitting your image as a hologram to him. The device that you hold in your hands right now is part informational database, part locator device which works much like a regular PokéDex would.*3* Simply put the equipment on, and I'll take care of the rest."  
  
"Thanks, Zero," Jude said as she put the visor and the rest of the gear on. "You're pretty cool."  
  
"Thank you, Jude. Prepare to be uploaded..."  
  
~~~  
  
When Bill came through to the other side, he found himself in... something not unlike the area used to battle the Mythic Dragon in Yu-gi-oh!, if anyone needs a visual.  
  
{Um... O-okay...} He looked around. {I never really thought... that this place would be this big...}  
  
"Bill, can you hear me?"  
  
He blinked. {Zero?}  
  
She appeared next to him. "Ziggy is an important part of things to come. Unfortunately, you cannot seem to find her at this point. However, I have been able to locate someone who can help."  
  
{What sort of someone?} he asked.  
  
Zero smiled lightly as Jude appeared as well, in holographic form.  
  
Jude looked around. "Wicked..."  
  
{You sent JUDE to guide me?} Bill blinked.  
  
"I cannot stay to guide you myself, and other watchers are busy looking after their own shifters," Zero told him softly. "She was the best I could find."  
  
{And how did you get my latest inventions to work?} Bill inquired to Jude.  
  
"I will explain everything later," Zero responded for her. "Right now, Ziggy is in trouble. Please, go now before she is gone forever!"  
  
With that, Zero disappeared.  
  
The black PokéDex-like device emitted yet another high-pitched sound. Jude took one look at it.  
  
"According to this thing, the antivirus program has just arrived to our left about twenty yards."  
  
The two looked over to see a green light slowly creeping along a wire on the floor several yards away.  
  
"If you jump into that, you might get Porygon to absorb some of the antivirus program coding," Jude said. "After that, we'll have to go directly northeast to get to Ziggy."  
  
{Thanks, Jude.}  
  
"Wait!" she stepped forward. "If you went into that light, wouldn't you be electricuting yourself?"  
  
{That light is nothing more than a mass of electricity and data,} Bill responded calmly. {Porygon can absorb data as if it were harmless food, and due to its Pokémon side, this particular Porygon can handle anything less in voltage than a mere Thunder Shock. If I'm correct, which I highly doubt that I'm not, the voltage flowing through this computer is lower than that of a Pikachu's Thunder Shock. I should be fine.}  
  
"And you call me cocky. You're the one running into a 'mass of electricity and data', claiming he can come out without a scratch."  
  
{That's not called cockiness; that's called knowing your Pokémon,} he told her. {Now come on! Ziggy needs us!}  
  
Quickly, he ran (or a Porygon version of "ran") forward, followed not long after by Jude.  
  
~~~  
  
The green light looked bigger than the both of them had imagined. Jude blinked at it and ended up looking away due to the light's brightness.  
  
"Are you sure you can handle THAT?" she asked her brother.  
  
She got no reply.  
  
"Bill?"  
  
She looked over to find that the spot he should have been in (right next to her) was empty. She found the light dimming and shrinking to a point where she could look at it. She found a shape floating out of it, only to find it being the Porygon.  
  
{You were saying?}  
  
"Whatever," Jude replied. "You're right. There. Are you happy?"  
  
If he had a mouth, he would have smiled right then. {Quite. Now, how far do we have to go to reach Ziggy?}  
  
Jude looked at the Dex. "Uh..."  
  
{Jude, how far do we have to go?}  
  
"See for yourself."  
  
She flipped the device around to allow her brother to read it. His eyes widened at the distance.  
  
{There's enough space in here for THAT sort of distance!?}  
  
"I'm surprised there's YARDS in here, so I guess space isn't a problem in here."  
  
{I suppose you're right.}  
  
Jude nodded, sighed, and looked at the device. "I guess we have to start running now to get to her before it's too late."  
  
{I'm way ahead of you... literally! Hurry up!}  
  
Jude looked up to see her brother already on his way to Ziggy's location.  
  
"Hey! Wait for me!" she yelped before putting the device in her pocket and running after him.  
  
~~~  
  
The virus slowed down. Ziggy twitched and opened her eyes to see Zero holding back a little, digital monster,*4* the virus that had been feeding on Ziggy.  
  
"Ziggy, are you alright?" Zero inquired with a worried tone.  
  
"I've been better," she replied weakly. "Can you get rid of that thing and get me back online?"  
  
Zero shook her head. "That isn't one of my powers, unfortunately. However, Bill is on his way. He can help you."  
  
"How?" Ziggy asked.  
  
"You'll see when he gets here."  
  
"How long will it take him to get here?"  
  
"He is travelling quickly, for the last thing he wants is to see you disappear into oblivion," Zero explained. "Already, he is halfway here." Zero looked over her shoulder with a worried glance. "I hope he will make it here on time, though. I must be honest with you, Ziggy. The virus has done a great deal of damage on you."  
  
"You don't have to tell ME that," Ziggy said with a cough.  
  
"Right now, I'm trying to grant Bill some time by holding back this creature," Zero continued as the virus struggled in her arms. "Unfortunately, I cannot hold on forever."  
  
"Please, Zero, hold on for dear life," Ziggy begged.  
  
Zero yelped as the virus bit her arm, but she continued to hold on.  
  
"I'm not sure I can," Zero replied to Ziggy. "I'm not strong physically."  
  
Ziggy groaned and closed her eyes. Zero shot another fretful look over her shoulder.  
  
'Please hurry, Bill,' the girl in white pleaded mentally.  
  
~~~  
  
Zero is... well, good with emotions. Both sending and receiving. She can sense, for example, if you're sad, even if you're pretending to be happy and have convinced others around you that you have not one ounce of sorrow in your body. Likewise, anyone for literally miles around can tell what she's feeling, as if she sends out certain vibrations in the air that happen to be different signals for her emotions. In this case, she wanted Bill to hurry, so she sent her "vibrations" of her troubled emotion to him.  
  
It got the effect she wanted. Bill sensed Zero's emotion and knew something was wrong. He picked up the pace, hoping to arrive at his destination quickly enough.  
  
"Hey! Wait up!" Jude cried from behind him. "Wait! OOH!"  
  
Bill looked back to see Jude fall backwards. She immediately got up and kicked an invisible wall.  
  
"What the hell...?"  
  
{This must be one of my security walls,} he explained. {I've programmed them to protect any sort of major data from average hackers. Only those with unique digital signatures I've left on them can pass through. Unfortunately, the transmitter I've put into the devices you happen to be using haven't had the signature put on them yet. That's why I had told you earlier that I haven't finished these inventions yet.}  
  
"Then how do you explain how the virus got through?"  
  
{Antiwarp must have a highly skilled hacker working for them.}  
  
"So what now? I can't go in with you."  
  
Bill thought for a moment. {Stay here then. I'll go in by myself and complete my mission, then come back to you.}  
  
"What if you need me?" Jude asked.  
  
{I'll be fine,} he assured her before turning and leaving as quickly as possible.  
  
Jude could only watch her brother leave before emitting a frustrated growl and taking a seat on the floor, cross-legged.  
  
~~~  
  
It was only a few more moments later when Bill finally arrived at the corridor which contained Ziggy. Zero looked up.  
  
"Bill... I'm glad you could finally make it..."  
  
Just then, the virus bit her. She screamed and held her arm as the digital bastard bounced back onto Ziggy. Zero faded away, leaving Bill alone with the decaying Ziggy and the corrupting pest.  
  
{Ziggy, can you hear me?}  
  
As she made weak attempts to shake off the virus, Ziggy shot an annoyed look at Bill. "I'm sick; not deaf, moron!"  
  
{I'll ignore that,} he muttered. {Ziggy, I've brought the antivirus program. ...Now what?}  
  
"You don't KNOW!?"  
  
{Well, I haven't exactly channeled a computer program out of my own body before, and apparently, neither has Porygon.}  
  
"I'm doomed."  
  
{For a sick being, you have a pretty healthy sense of sarcasm.}  
  
Ziggy groaned, trembled, and fell to her knees as the virus continued to eat away at her.  
  
{ZIGGY!}  
  
Bill floated around her. He never felt so useless in his life...  
  
~~~  
  
Jude was on her back, staring up at the ceiling like one would lie down on a bed of grass and stare up at the stars.  
  
'What's taking him so long?' she asked herself.  
  
She held the PokéDex-like device up so she could stare at its blank screen.  
  
'If only I could get in the action...'  
  
As if to answer her question, the device beeped, and the screen began to glow. The glow faded, revealing a set of directions on a white background. Jude sat up as she read the first line.  
  
"Send these instructions to Bill." She blinked. "Yeah, that'd be easy... If I knew how..."  
  
As if in a second response, another line appeared below the instructions.  
  
"Open channel 01. Connecting... Connection complete?" Jude blinked. "Weird..."  
  
{Ziggy! Hang in there! Oh, god... What do I do now!?}  
  
Jude blinked once more, then smiled. "Oh! This must be a communication channel!"  
  
~~~  
  
Bill stopped upon suddenly hearing his sister's voice. {Jude?}  
  
"You can hear me?" she inquired.  
  
{Yes, but... How? Your signal should be blocked.}  
  
"Direct channel into you," Ziggy managed to mutter as she curled up on the floor. "Same thing I have."  
  
"Right, what Ziggy said," Jude said. "Listen, Bill, Zero sent in some instructions that might help you."  
  
{Go on,} he urged.  
  
"You've been trying to get the antivirus program out of Porygon," Jude said. "According to Zero, after you flew into that light, you, or okay, your host, BECAME the antivirus program."  
  
{Alright, so how do I help Ziggy?}  
  
"All you have to do is come in contact with the virus," Jude replied. "And no, it's not that easy. The little ass hole--"  
  
{Jude!}  
  
"Sorry. The little BUGGER."  
  
{Much better. Go on.}  
  
"Anyways, the little bugger is pretty d... dang aggressive. It's not going out without a fight. Well, that and Zero says there might be a chance that this is gonna hurt."  
  
{Hurt? Define "hurt."}  
  
"Several different 'hurts' there," Jude admitted. "There's the 'Ow, stupid static electricity' hurt, the 'Ow, I slammed into a wall' hurt, the 'Ow, I stood at the edge of an explosion' hurt, and the ever-so popular but, trust me, less probable, 'Ow, I'm dead' hurt."  
  
{Thank you, Jude, for putting that pleasant idea into a much nicer perspective,} Bill told her with a high amount of sarcasm.  
  
"Don't mention it," Jude replied. "Uh, just get the virus away from Ziggy, just in case it DOES turn out to be that nice, 'Ow, I'm dead' possibility."  
  
{That shouldn't be TOO hard...}  
  
He swooped in close to the virus, nearly knocking it off Ziggy. The green ball of ugliness hissed at him as he came back around to try again. Clearly, it was getting annoyed, but it wouldn't abandon its prey too soon. There was one other option, and that was to use an offensive attack.  
  
Tri Attack did quite nicely.  
  
The virus flew backwards, hissed and screeched, but got back on its "feet". It ran toward Ziggy again, but once again, Bill swooped forward, managing to knock the virus back.  
  
On contact with Small, Green, and Ugly, sparks flew off everywhere. Indeed it was painful, but Bill remained in contact with the bugger for as long as he could. When he could take no more, he pulled away.  
  
This time, the pest was angry. To relieve its anger, it threw itself at the Porygon and latched on. Hey, no one ever said it was SMART.  
  
Electricity flew everywhere, and two screams echoed around the corridor. Ziggy managed to look up and watch the whole show in amazement and fear.  
  
Only a few minutes later, Bill couldn't take it anymore, and he threw the virus off of him. The virus, on the other hand, fell unconscious before striking the floor and exploding.  
  
There was a period of silence as Bill dropped to the ground, trying to catch what breath he could. He finally looked over at Ziggy, who had fallen asleep and was slowly being restored automatically.  
  
That's when he began to sense her. It was unusual. Outside, she was but a mere hologram, with no body and nothing to call real except her essence. Inside this computer world, she WAS real, with a tangible body and... a scent.  
  
If he had a mouth, Bill would have smiled at this. He didn't know how, but Ziggy smelled like strawberries. It was an absurd thought, but it was true.  
  
He reached out to touch her. She felt like a natural human being. Apparently, she felt his touch, because she groaned a bit and shivered.  
  
He wanted to stay by Ziggy's side until she was restored completely and awake, but it was Jude who stopped him.  
  
"Hey, Bill! What's going on in there?" she asked.  
  
{Nothing,} he responded. {I'll be there in a moment.}  
  
He looked at Ziggy one last time.  
  
'She's cute when she's asleep and not incessantly speaking,' he thought as he turned to leave.  
  
~~~  
  
The siblings returned to the real world (and real body, in Bill's case). When they arrived, Jude smiled and took off her headgear.  
  
"That was SO COOL!" she exclaimed happily. "I felt like that hologram guy who follows that scientist dude around in that one show..."  
  
"I believe you would be referring to Al Calavicci, Sam Beckett, and Quantum Leap,*5* respectively," Bill told her as he sat up on the floor.  
  
"Yeah!" Jude nodded. "Wait... How did you know that? I thought you didn't watch TV."  
  
"I'm a casual fan of Quantum Leap," Bill replied. "In fact, Ziggy was partially inspired by the Ziggy in the show."*6*  
  
"What do you mean by 'casual'?"  
  
"I happen to be only member 548 of the Kanto section of the Quantum Leap Fan Club."  
  
Jude stared at him.  
  
"The higher the number, the more you're into it," he explained. "Members number one through seven can act out every episode in the series, and members eight through fourteen are all girls who wish they had a chance to 'leap' onto Scott Bakula, if you know what I mean."  
  
"Uh... huh..." Jude blinked. "Penny wasn't kidding when she said you were a nerd."  
  
"You had to have Penny tell you that?" Bill joked.  
  
Apparently, at that moment, Ziggy had been restored enough to make an appearance. She stretched, yawned, and smiled.  
  
"Hello, Ziggy," Bill greeted as he stood up. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Much better!" she replied cheerfully. "Bill, if I could, I would kiss you! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for saving me!"  
  
"I suppose we're even then," he said.  
  
"Even?" Ziggy blinked.  
  
"Yes." Bill nodded. "Technically, when you guided me through my early shifts, you saved MY life. So now I've saved yours. Am I right?"  
  
Ziggy put a finger to her mouth as she thought about it. "Yeah. I guess so..."  
  
"Hey! What about me!?" Jude asked. "Don't I get a thanks!?"  
  
Bill smiled and put a hand on his sister's shoulder. "Of COURSE you get a thank you! If it weren't for you, I'd still be lost in there!"  
  
"So, does this mean you want me around now?" Jude asked cautiously.  
  
"Mmm..." Bill let go and turned away. "No. After this week, you'll be going back to Goldenrod."  
  
"But BILL--!" Jude cried.  
  
He turned back to her and smiled. "I was just kidding, Jude. You're welcome to stay here and help Ziggy and me for as long as you want."  
  
Jude smiled broadly and punched the air. "Wicked!"  
  
Bill cocked his head. "Um... I'm not sure exactly if that's a good thing, but I'll take it as one."  
  
Ziggy cleared her throat. The two humans turned to her at last.  
  
"By the way, Zero wanted me to explain something to you," she said. "First off, she got your inventions working, Bill. And it's about time I told you what they are, too. See, you're not the only shifter in the world, as you saw with Apollo and Antiwarp. There's actually hundreds of 'em, all trying to remain, well, less obvious. And each shifter has a human watcher who has what Jude's equipped with: the visor and headset, or the 'link gear', and the hand-held device, or the 'COM device'. They're supposed to allow all watchers to keep in touch with their respective shifters as well as other shifters and watchers. Each of Zero's followers gets one somehow, be it falling from the sky, delivered by one of Zero's Pokémon friends, or through the method that Bill went through, what Zero calls 'puppet building'."  
  
"That explains a lot," Jude muttered as she looked at her COM device.  
  
"Zero has followers?" Bill inquired. "How many?"  
  
"Put it this way," Ziggy answered. "Anyone who wants peace in the Pokémon world is, though they don't know it, a follower of Zero. Those who do know it, well, they're our trusted allies."  
  
"Yeah, but wasn't Benadict Arnold a trusted ally of the Americans?" Jude asked.  
  
Bill stared at her.  
  
"History is my favorite subject, especially when we get into the bloody, military details," she told him with a shrug.  
  
"It's not that, though that DOES surprise me," Bill said. "It's the fact that you have a point that scares me."  
  
"What's that suppose to mean!?"  
  
"Only that... er..." He gave her a nervous look and lowered his head. "I'll shut up now."  
  
"Wise decision," Jude sneered.  
  
~~~  
  
Chester withdrew the syringe from the bag and emptied the crimson contents into a vial. He carefully handed it to Dr. Crocus, who only glanced at it.  
  
"With this, we can find the key to disabling -- and dismantling -- Warp," she muttered. "That pesky know-it-all won't get in our way the way he got in Loki's..."  
  
Cautiously, she took a cotton swab, dipped it into the red liquid and spread the liquid onto a slide Chester held up for her. Together, the pair finished preparing the slide and placing the rest of the blood in the vial in a safe spot before any further procedures.  
  
Chester looked up at his superior, who gave him a nod. He then placed the blood into an advanced machine to scan for chromatin of some sort located in the white blood cells.  
  
By studying DNA in this particular location, there was a chance that Crocus could develop something that could first correct the DNA in Bill's blood, then spread the "correction virus" (oxymoron not intended) to the rest of his body. This study could help Crocus decide on how to prepare the virus to have it be carried on the blood cells and through his system quickly and easily, not to mention what to make the virus out of so that the white blood cells avoid it.  
  
The results were printed out. Crocus took one look at these papers and smiled.  
  
"It's so simple," she whispered.  
  
~~~  
  
Zero sat on a rock in the center of her lake. She thought back to the fight between the virus and the antivirus occuring in Bill's computer. In a way, it was a foretelling of things to come.  
  
Keios remained in the shadows, hovering above her, unable to touch things on the ground due to the holy properties of the earth of this particular area. He hissed at Zero. She stared up at him defiantly.  
  
"Coward," he snapped. "If you were any better of a being, you would join me in the air."  
  
She said nothing relevant to his comment. "You are blocking the moon. Please move."  
  
"You're always reliant on something," Keios insulted. "The moon, your family, your lake, Mercurius, Apollo and Artemis, and now... the Prime."  
  
"I am reliant on no one," she replied. "I ask them to aide in my cause, and they do so. You, on the other hand, are reliant on every puppet you have ever used, forcing them to do your bidding because you know you cannot do it yourself."  
  
Keios sneered. "One day, you will regret speaking to me in such an insulting manner."  
  
Keios vanished, allowing the moonlight to flow down onto Zero. She stared at the moon with a soft glance.  
  
"Darkness versus light," she muttered. "Not unlike the battle staged today. However... Will he be ready...?"  
  
She looked down at the waters and closed her eyes.  
  
***  
  
End episode 12*7*  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: Capella is a system of stars orbiting around each other, two yellow giants and two red dwarfs, in a constellation called... well, I can't remember what it was called. I'll get back to you on that. ^_^; As for Sirius, no, he's not named after Sirius Black, though I have nothing against the Animagus. ^_^ He's actually named after the star system in the constellation Canis Major, made up of two stars orbiting around each other.  
  
*2*: I would say HOW he did this, but I got lazy. ^_^;  
  
*3*: This is going by the game, in which a PokéDex is both an information database on all Pokémon as well as a locator device for each Pokémon nest.  
  
*4*: No reference to Digimon intended. o.o;  
  
*5*: Okay, so this season we're going to have a lot more Quantum Leap references. ^_^; There's that direct joke (inspired, by the way, by a clip from the show Jag involving a Quantum Leap convention), the black PokéDex-like device (aka COM device), which is like a less-colorful handlink (and, okay, was named after the device Yamaki gave the kids just before they entered the Digital World in Digimon Tamers), and possibly a few more things. Let's all give a nice "yay" to Quantum Leap! YAY!  
  
*6*: Actually, that's true. I tried to give Ziggy the hologram the "big ego" that most leapers say Ziggy the hybrid computer had. And by the way, it shouldn't be surprising that Bill knows about Quantum Leap. Because the story takes place in the future, the show would be as old as Leave it to Beaver is to us, for example. So he could have seen it at any point in his life. And by the way, yes, I can imagine Bill liking this show. Either that or he'd sympathize for and identify himself with Dr. Beckett. And I mean "sympathize" and "identify" both in a strong sense. ^_^;  
  
*7*: Woo! One of the longer episodes (eighteen pages, seventeen and two-thirds of which are the actual story) with a few decent subplots. ^_^ Though it leaves you with more of a mystery you came in with, especially that scene at the end, which was actually a foreshadow for the end of season three/the movie. Wow. I'm getting WAY ahead of myself... o.o; Anywho, didn't I say Jude would be important later? Yep. I did. Episode four, buddy. =p Well, guess what? She's going to be even more important later on, much like Ziggy. ^_^ And finally, just for the record, if Zero's starting to sound like a Mary Sue, I apologize. ^_^;;; 


	4. All in Good Time

Foreword: In a few days, I'll be moving everything (well, almost everything) to an easier-to-find account (easier according to my friends), Kazeto Tamashii. Just a heads up to everyone who likes what I write and to those of you who are wondering why this new name is posting up things I've already done. (She didn't plagerize it! Tamashii IS Mai! I swear! ...Sort of... ^_^;)  
  
Of course, this doesn't explain why I'm putting this up on my Mai account. Well, nothing does, really. I just didn't feel like rushing and put both season one and two on my Tamashii account before putting this up. Having this sit around on Ziggy (Me laptop, in case you had forgotten, is nicknamed Ziggy.) is incredibly annoying. Like waiting for something exciting to happen, but knowing it's a month away. O_o (Speaking about waiting for things a month or more away, I wish summer break would come soon... ;_;)  
  
Edit (4/8/03): If you really want to know when this will be happening, it should be after I get another "reply to the reviews" thing (episode 16). I want to reply to the reviews I get here before deleting this and reuploading it. Why am I deleting this and starting over again? Uh... I think some administrator for Fanfiction.net would be happy to kick my ass for putting up a story that was already up here... ^_^;  
  
And oh yes, the dreaded number thirteen. Dun, dun, dun! (Actually, there may be something coincidential about this. Read through to get it!)  
  
***  
Episode 13--  
All in Good Time  
  
AOL Instant Messanger: Connecting... Connection complete.  
  
RCSugar23: jude?  
sk8tr_grl72: watz up, roxy?  
RCSugar23: WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?  
RCSugar23: dammit, girl, i've missed you.  
sk8tr_grl72: awww...  
sk8tr_grl72: i feel loved.  
RCSugar23: ...?  
RCSugar23: WELL!?!?  
sk8tr_grl72: chill.  
sk8tr_grl72: i'm staying with my bro for awhile.  
RCSugar23: y?  
sk8tr_grl72: i'm in short supply of psychotic nerds.  
RCSugar23: LOL  
RCSugar23: no, really.  
RCSugar23: making fun of preps isn't the same w/o you.  
RCSugar23: are your parents making you live with him?  
sk8tr_grl72: watz so bad about living with bill for awhile?  
RCSugar23: no offense to your family, but  
RCSugar23: your bro creeps me out.  
sk8tr_grl72: LOL!!! :D  
RCSugar23: no, really!  
RCSugar23: he's the type of nerd who would make an english-to-klingon dictionary  
RCSugar23: then stand outside dj mary's bedroom window for an hour, just to see her take off her sweater.  
sk8tr_grl72: o, come on! he's too proud of his virginity to do something like that.  
sk8tr_grl72: i can imagine him doing the dictionary thing, tho.  
RCSugar23: LOL  
  
There was a knock on the door.  
  
"Jude? Do you need any help with your homework?" Bill asked from the other side.  
  
sk8tr_grl72: o, shit. he's at the door. brb.  
RCSugar23: ok.  
  
"Nope. I'm good," Jude replied.  
  
sk8tr_grl72: g2g FAST! ttyl, roxy!  
RCSugar23: you 2, jude.  
  
AOL Instant Messanger: Disconnecting...*1*  
  
The program disappeared. Jude shut off the monitor and jumped onto her bed, where her open algebra book lay. Just in time, too. Bill opened the door and poked his head inside.  
  
"Are you sure?" he inquired. "I have a little extra time. Perhaps there's something I can help clear up for you."  
  
Jude shook her head. "I'm good. Really. I just need to study for tomorrow's test. My new bio teacher, Mr. Dean, doesn't even care that I didn't learn too much about this chapter back home."*2*  
  
"So, you're studying for a biology test?" Bill partially stated, partially inquired as he completely stepped into Jude's room.  
  
"Yeah," Jude replied.  
  
"Right now?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Right." Bill nodded in disbelief before pointing to Jude's book. "That's an algebra book."  
  
'Dammit!' Jude thought as she looked at her book.  
  
Bill looked at her with half-opened eyes and a raised eyebrow. "Well...?"  
  
"You heard the Instant Messenger, didn't you?" Jude asked cautiously.  
  
"Halfway down the hall," he told her. "Next time you want to goof off when you SHOULD be doing your homework, at least TRY to be subtle about it."  
  
"Point taken."  
  
"Good." Bill began to leave the room.  
  
Jude blinked. "Wait... That's it? No punishment or lecture or anything?"  
  
"Jude, though technically, I'm currently your legal guardian, I don't wish to torment you by being a dictatorial parental figure," he replied.  
  
"Uh... Thanks... I guess..." Jude cocked her head.  
  
He smiled and left the room. Jude sighed with relief and began to put her book away.  
  
"But in case you're wondering, the punishment will come AFTER you fail the test Mr. Dean had so graciously informed me about!" Bill called from somewhere down the hall.  
  
Jude groaned. "Oh man..."  
  
~~~  
  
Bill closed the door to the cellar, leaned with his back against it, and sighed. Out of anything he had to deal with before, parenting a teenager had to be the most challenging.  
  
"Aww... You look worried. Penny for your thoughts?" Ziggy asked.  
  
"I sympathize for my parents," he replied earnestly.  
  
"It's THAT hard, trying to keep an eye on her?" Ziggy smirked.  
  
"Yes, but it's not as hard as dealing with you."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Hey!" Ziggy snapped. "What's that supposed to mean!!?"  
  
"Exactly what it sounds like," Bill replied with a grin as she made his way down the steps.  
  
"Well, thank you, Mr. Congeniality!" Ziggy hissed.  
  
"I was kidding."  
  
"That's a lousy excuse!!"  
  
Bill smiled. "You're right. I apologize, Ziggy."  
  
"Good!" She smiled as well. "Then are you up for a shift?"  
  
He nodded. "Of course."  
  
"Great! I'll tell Jude!" Ziggy announced.  
  
"Uh, wait, Ziggy," Bill said, stopping the hologram. "It might be best if you... just left her alone for awhile."  
  
"Huh? Why?"  
  
"She has a biology test tomorrow, and I wouldn't like to disturb her from studying."  
  
~~~  
  
We take a short break to take a glance at what Jude was REALLY doing in her room. She put aside her book and managed to get the Gameboy Advance (which she had bought with her allowance in a Goldenrod discount game shop) out from under her bed and began to play a classic Legend of Zelda game.  
  
"Oh! Left! Left!" she whispered as she hit the buttons with her thumb. "Hyaa! Kill those baddies! Ha! The boss doesn't stand a chance!"  
  
And now, back to our regularly scheduled program.  
  
~~~  
  
"I see," Ziggy said with a nod.  
  
She smirked and rolled her eyes up to stare at the ceiling.  
  
"And what might that look be for?" Bill inquired suspiciously.  
  
"Nothing," Ziggy lied.  
  
Apparently, she knew what Jude was doing up there, but she didn't want to tell Bill.  
  
"Hmm..." Bill narrowed his eyes at Ziggy.  
  
"Uh, don't you have a shift to go to?" Ziggy asked nervously.  
  
"Hmm..." Bill closed his eyes. "I'll deal with you AND Jude later."  
  
He shifted out.  
  
"Damn, he's good," Ziggy muttered, about to follow him.  
  
~~~  
  
He shifted in. He was... in a forest. Alone. It was because of the fact that he was unaccompanied and not in some sort of rush that Bill decided to take the time to look over what sort of form he was in before anything else.  
  
Purple fur, thin, dog-like limbs and body, long, thin, forked tail.  
  
{Espeon,} he muttered to himself. {Ziggy!}  
  
She appeared in a flash.  
  
"Aww... How cute!" she cooed. "I've always wanted an Espeon!"  
  
{I'll program one for you as soon as you help me get through this shift,} he offered. {Tell me, Ziggy, who is my charge, and what am I supposed to do for him or her?}  
  
"Hmm... This is a bit unusual," Ziggy said as she cocked her head to the left and held it with her left hand. "Zero's not saying anything. She says that your host had always been wild -- born wild, raised wild, and evolved naturally through increased happiness during the day... And as for your mission, she says that Antiwarp will take you someplace, and the rest you can figure out on your own."  
  
{That's strange,} Bill agreed. {Perhaps this is a test of some sort.}  
  
"I'd love to see what she's trying to test."  
  
{So would I.}  
  
Suddenly, a new voice spoke up. "Well, well! If it isn't little Creampuff! ...And of course, Creampuff's boyfriend."  
  
Ziggy puffed up her face as Bill blinked in a bit of confusion.  
  
{B-boyfriend?}  
  
"Oracle..." Ziggy let the air out of her cheeks and yelled, "Show yourself, you ugly prima donna!"  
  
"Oh, my! Haven't WE become the catty ones?"  
  
Oracle giggled and appeared, hovering before the top of a pine tree and floating down toward the ground. All the while, she had a hand on her hip and a hand in her hair as well as one knee bent. As soon as she landed, she dropped the hand in her hair.  
  
"You've gotten chubbier since the last time we've met," Oracle commented.  
  
"I'M NOT CHUBBY!!!" Ziggy argued angrily.  
  
"As much as I'd like to argue that, I'm here for a reason," Oracle stated.  
  
"What sort of reason, Prima Donna?" Ziggy sneered.  
  
Oracle smirked. "I'd like for you to meet a couple of friends of mine..."  
  
Suddenly, a red blur tore across the area and struck Bill with a Slash attack as well as knock him a few feet away. The red slash across his face began trickling blood, but he still stood up, ready for a fight. The red blur, a Scizor, reappeared next to him.  
  
"There's one..."  
  
A green light descended upon Bill and faded, revealing a Celebi. It gave him a sinister look and blasted at him with a Psychic*3* attack. Quickly, he dodged it.  
  
"There's the other!" Oracle laughed. "Sic 'im, kids!"  
  
"YOU DAMN SADIST!" Ziggy kicked at her again, only to find her foot sailing through Oracle's head, causing Oracle to crack up again.  
  
"You're too much, Creampuff," Oracle said between laughs.  
  
Meanwhile, Bill was trying to fight both Pokémon at the same time. Unfortunately, he wasn't doing too well.  
  
Scizor started things off with a Quick Attack, followed by Bill's Sand Attack to Scizor, followed by Celebi's Solar Beam at Bill. Bill tried to use Sand Attack on Celebi, but wound up with a Slash attack to the back. Frustrated, he tried a new strategy: Double Team, followed by Quick Attack.  
  
When Bill struck Celebi using Quick Attack, both psychic Pokémon slammed down into Scizor, and almost immediately after, Celebi's time-travelling ability activated.  
  
Before anyone could do anything, the three Pokémon disappeared into a time warp with a flash of light.  
  
~~~  
  
The afternoon sun warmed his face. He groaned and opened his eyes. He was alone again, this time, in a park.  
  
And his head felt like someone took a sledgehammer to it.  
  
{Oh... god...}  
  
Weakly, he stood up, shook his head, and got a good look around. Suddenly, it dawned on him. He knew where he was. The park... in town... near his lighthouse.  
  
{What happened?} he asked himself as he blinked. {The last thing I remember was hitting Celebi. How did I end up back home...?}  
  
He stood up and wandered around town. No one seemed to notice him, save for a few children who wanted to pet him. (These children, of course, made him nervous, so he did his best to shy away from them.)  
  
And when he thought he'd walked through weirder things, what he saw next was even weirder.  
  
A young man stood near a bin filled with fruits outside a grocery store, no doubt speaking with the store manager, a short, much older woman with a hose, intending on watering the fruits as she spoke to the young man. His eyes drifted to the bin every so often, noticing that there was so much water being put into it that pieces of fruit kept floating out of it. He listened to the woman chat as he held a plastic bag in one hand and a book in the other.  
  
Bill was especially startled at the presence of this young man. You see, it was... well, him.  
  
{How is this possible?} he asked himself as he ducked around the corner of the store, watching himself speak with the old woman.  
  
"So, Dr. McKenzie," the woman addressed. "Are you married yet?"  
  
"No, Mrs. Izumi," he replied politely. "I'm waiting until I'm at least twenty to take a large step like that in my life."  
  
"Are you sure you wouldn't want a girlfriend at least?" Mrs. Izumi asked.  
  
"Ah, no, that's alright," he replied with a nervous laugh.  
  
'Wait...' Bill (the one in the Espeon) crouched lower upon realizing something. 'I feel like I've been through this before...'  
  
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Izumi asked again. "My niece is coming to town, you see. She's looking for a good man to marry, and I think you two would make a LOVELY couple!"  
  
'Say no! Say no! Say no!' Bill begged mentally.  
  
"Ah, no that's quite alright, Mrs. Izumi. I'm quite happy being single."  
  
'Thank god!' The Espeon sighed with relief.  
  
Mrs. Izumi went on. "Are you sure? She's quite a lovely--"  
  
"Oh my! Look at the time!" The human Bill interrupted as he looked at his watch and quickly waved to Mrs. Izumi. "It's been nice talking to you! I'd love to stay and chat a bit more, but I REALLY must be leaving!" He bowed, turned, and ran down the street. "Good bye, Mrs. Izumi!"  
  
Mrs. Izumi blinked. "Was it something I said?"  
  
The Espeon, in need of answers, followed his human self.  
  
~~~  
  
The human walked along the road, reading the book he was carrying, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Meanwhile, the Espeon following not far behind was assaulted with one feeling of déjà vu after another.  
  
The two carried on like this... right up until the Espeon stepped on a twig his human self had stepped over. The twig broke in half, causing both to jump. The human turned around and knelt down in front of the Espeon.  
  
"Hello, there," he said softly, putting the book and the bag aside. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you..."  
  
Bill allowed his human self to touch the side of his head. The human hand moved the Espeon's head around as human eyes observed the cut.  
  
"Hmm... It looks like you got in a rather nasty fight quite recently," he commented. "Come along. I'll take you to my home and fix you up a bit."  
  
He stood and grabbed the bag and the book. The Pokémon could do nothing more than follow.  
  
~~~  
  
In the cellar, the human Bill carefully treated the slash across the Espeon's face. After that was done with, he excused himself and continued upstairs, leaving the Espeon to his own devices... literally.  
  
He looked about and noticed something.  
  
{The Time Capsule... It's not finished!}  
  
He jumped off the desk he sat on and went over to examine the machine.  
  
{How is this possible? Unless...} He began to pace as he thought. {Unless the legends about Celebi are true. If Celebi could truly travel through time, it could have taken itself, Scizor, and myself... right back to the day I became a shifter! THAT'S why everything seemed so familiar to me! I've done everything right before I ran the test! The test...}  
  
He stopped. A thought came over him.  
  
{If I can stop myself from running the test tonight, then I can stop all of this from happening,} he said to himself. {I could return to my normal life, and Antiwarp would never exist!}   
  
He smiled, forming a plan to stop himself from running the experiment. That is, until his face fell upon a second realization.   
  
{But then... If I never ran the test, then none of this would have happened. Everything I've done to help individuals, from Abbie to Jude, would all be undone. Ziggy would still be an old, forgotten program in the back of my computer... and then there would be everything to come!}*4*  
  
He shook his head, slightly angry at himself for actually thinking about something as outrageous as coming up with a plan to change history.  
  
{No! I can't change what has already happened!} Bill decided firmly. {If all of this was meant to happen, why bother tampering with it? And how could I even THINK of giving up shifting?}  
  
He suddenly remembered what Ziggy had said about this mission. Antiwarp would take him someplace, and the rest of the mission was easy enough to figure out.  
  
{If this is where Antiwarp is supposed to take me, then what am I supposed to do now?} he asked himself. {Why am I he--}  
  
His eyes widened as he realized he wouldn't be the only one who would figure out what he had just said about changing history. That if he changed one moment, the moment he ran the experiment, he could stop himself from becoming a shifter. And if he wouldn't be the only one to figure this out, then...  
  
{Oh no...}  
  
~~~  
  
{So, you've taken us to the day McKenzie became a shifter,} the Scizor summerized. {Nice choice.}  
  
{Thanks,} Celebi responded. {But are you thinking what I'm thinking?}  
  
{Hmm... What are you thinking?}  
  
{Dr. Crocus wants to strip McKenzie of his powers, then kill him,} Celebi stated. {What if we killed his past self now before anything ever happens?}  
  
{Then what about us? We had plans to take over the world with our powers!} Scizor pointed out. {If shifting never existed, we'd lose everything we already have!}  
  
{So? There'd be one less person to get in our way,} Celebi replied. {Get rid of McKenzie now, and sure, we'll be normal humans again. But with him out of the way, even as humans we can get rid of anyone else who stands in our way to our rightful thrones!}  
  
{Hmm... Good point,} Scizor said with a nod. {Alright! What are our plans?}  
  
{Simple!} Celebi answered. {All we have to do is...}  
  
~~~  
  
"Here, Espeon," the human Bill said as he put a bowl of Pokémon food and another of water by his Pokémon self in the cellar. "Don't worry. I can't cook human food, but ironically enough, I'm quite good at making Pokémon food." He turned to the Time Capsule. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get some work done. Just bark if you need me."  
  
The human made his way over to the Time Capsule and began to work quickly. The Espeon watched for awhile, then turned his attention to the Pokémon food. First, came the cautious sniffing.  
  
{Let's hope that wasn't an empty brag,} Bill muttered as he picked up one of the Pokémon food pellets with his mouth and chewed on it. {Hmm...}  
  
He noted that it was a heck of a lot better than the stuff he usually attempted to make from scratch. And besides, at least these Pokémon pellets don't get up and walk away...  
  
He continued to eat silently for awhile until, about fifteen minutes later, he turned his attention back to the human working. He slipped past the food bowls and sat near by, watching his invention slowly become complete.  
  
The human sensed he was being watched and stopped to look behind him at the Espeon. The Espeon quickly curled up on the floor and closed his eyes, embarrassed as the human smiled.  
  
"Oh, I don't mind if you want to watch," he said. "It's nice to have company while working on machinery."  
  
The Espeon opened his eyes and stared at the human as the past self went back to work.  
  
~~~  
  
Not much longer later, the Time Capsule was finished, and Bill's past self began working on the program. Soon, he'd be able to watch himself step into the Time Capsule, taking the first step to his destiny... whatever it might be.  
  
Suddenly, the door was knocked off its hinges. Scizor charged in, followed by Celebi. The red blur flew over the Espeon, aiming for the startled human. Quickly, Bill used Psychic to save his past self.  
  
^Hurry!^*5* the Espeon cried mentally to his past self. ^Let's get out of here!^  
  
Thinking it was his own train of thought, the human ran from the cellar with Espeon at his heels.  
  
{You can't run from us forever, McKenzie,} Celebi hissed.  
  
At the top of the steps, Espeon turned to his human self. ^Stay here. I'm going back downstairs to deal with Scizor and Celebi.^  
  
"What...?" The human blinked as he watched the Espeon go back downstairs.  
  
{I won't let you harm my past self,} Bill growled at Scizor and Celebi. {I can't go back to being a normal human being. Lives will be thrown off course if I'm not around to help!}  
  
{You can try to stop us,} Scizor said, {but in the end, you'll die either way.}  
  
{I won't let that happen!} Bill yelled as he used Double Team.  
  
{We're not falling for that trick again!} Celebi announced as she began absorbing sunlight.  
  
Her partner, however, used Slash, luckily on an illusion. The real Bill was still somewhere among the circle of Espeons, who, one by one, used Quick Attack on Scizor.  
  
Celebi struck with Solar Beam. This time, it was aimed at her real, intended target, who narrowly evaded it. The illusions vanished, but he struck back with Psychic, knocking Celebi out of the sky.  
  
Scizor cried out and picked up his fallen comrade.  
  
{You haven't heard the last of us!} Scizor bellowed as Celebi used Teleport to take them both out of the lighthouse.  
  
Bill sighed with relief and looked back toward the stairs to see his past self standing by the steps.  
  
"You have a bit of explaining to do, little psychic," he said.  
  
~~~  
  
The human Bill sat on the steps, ready to hear the story (which had been stalled for five minutes until now).  
  
"First thing's first," he finally said. "Those Pokémon wanted to attack me, am I right?"  
  
The future self nodded. ^Correct.^  
  
"Why?"  
  
The Espeon sighed. ^Let me start from the very beginning.^ He closed his eyes. ^You see, I'm your future self.^  
  
The past self blinked. "So... I turn into an Espeon?"  
  
^Not exactly. Let me explain.^ He paused, opened his eyes, and stared at his human self. ^Tonight, I conducted -- or you WILL conduct -- an experiment using the Time Capsule Beta. Something happens. I think... Yes, you will trip and fall into the TCB, causing it to activate while you're still in it. Your body will absorb some of its programming, and you will become what I am. A shifter.^  
  
"A... shifter?"  
  
^One who can shift, or transfer their mind and soul into a Pokémon body.^  
  
"So, you shifted into Espeon."  
  
^Yes, but this is quite some time after I gained my powers.^ He cleared his throat... regardless of the fact that he wasn't using his voice. ^Now then, about these Pokémon. You see, some information will be stolen by Team Rocket, and they will create their own shifters under a Project Antiwarp. Antiwarp will then be abandoned, but they still... well, they're still trying to get rid of me. The Scizor and the Celebi are actually being controlled by shifters, and it was the fault of one of these shifters that put us both in this mess.^*6*  
  
He stopped, looked at his past self with serious eyes, then continued.  
  
^What I mean to say is, both of those Pokémon have interrupted past events,^ Bill (inside Espeon) continued. ^Bill, you MUST finish that program in time to run that test!^  
  
"I don't know... I'm not so sure I want to participate in all this shifting business..."  
  
The future Bill recognized this as one of his earlier thoughts about shifting. He sighed.  
  
^Bill, if you don't go through with that test, lives will be off course forever.^  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
^After I gained my powers, I've used them to help people. In the bodies of Pokémon, I've been able to change people's lives for the better. If I don't receive my powers, then everything will be undone, and who knows what would happen to the people I've helped?^  
  
"Intense."  
  
^Indeed.^  
  
"But... I see what you mean. Alright." The human went over to his computer and continued working on that program. "I'll do as you say."  
  
^You actually trust me? This is an unbelieveable story, after all.^  
  
"True, it IS quite farfetched, but you should know why I'm trusting you anyways. You ARE me, after all."  
  
The future self thought about it for a moment and smiled. ^Touché. I suppose I would know why you're not reluctant to accept my fate, right?^  
  
The past self looked back and smiled. "Right."  
  
~~~  
  
{We've only got one more chance to get over there and stop McKenzie from going in that damn Time Capsule!} Celebi announced as Scizor carried her and darted forward, back to the lighthouse, after the grass psychic had time to use Heal Bell.  
  
{And we'll get there,} Scizor replied. {Trust me, that ass hole won't live to go into a Pokémon's body!}  
  
Suddenly, a Swift attack struck Scizor and knocked him out of the air. He and Celebi struck the ground in screams and thuds. Both looked up to see another Celebi floating beside a Mew, their attacker.*7*  
  
{All those who want peace in the world follow Lady Aigori's command,} the stranger Celebi said, {and Lady Aigori has asked us to save the life of one Bill McKenzie. She claims he's one of the three born to bring peace to our planet. We won't allow you to harm him!}  
  
{And what are YOU going to do about it?} the Antiwarp Celebi inquired. {I can match your powers completely.}  
  
{You've made three fatal flaws,} Mew commented. {First, you've allowed us to see your weakness, egotism. Second, you've underestimated your enemy by not concidering stats. Thirdly, you forgot about me!}  
  
With that, Mew used Ancient Power, striking both Pokémon and sending them flying backwards into a tree.  
  
{Now, Celebi!} Mew cried.  
  
Celebi nodded and flew forward. {I send thee back to the time and form you belong in! May you never cross time warps again!}  
  
Celebi produced a gust of wind carrying sparks of light that struck, swirled around, and collected around the Antiwarp Celebi and Scizor. Soon, the sparks formed a wall of multi-colored light before brightening and fading, revealing nothing behind it.  
  
{Thank you for your help,} Celebi said to his friend with a bow. {Now, if you'll excuse me, I must meet with the Prime and return him to his rightful time.}  
  
{Of course.} Mew nodded. {Safe journey, Celebi.}  
  
{Same to you, my friend.}  
  
~~~  
  
The Espeon stood guard near the steps. Surely Antiwarp's agents would be back. How soon was a different question.  
  
The human continued working. He was near finished coding when he pased and looked over at his future self. He had his doubts, but he shook his head, clearing them from his mind. This had to be done.  
  
Only moments later, the codes were finished, and he saved the program and stood.  
  
"Finished," he muttered before looking back at his Espeon self with a smile. "Would you like to watch me run the first test?"  
  
The Espeon looked back and thought for a moment. It would be interesting to watch, but...  
  
^No, thank you,^ he replied.  
  
No, he didn't want to watch this.  
  
The past self shrugged. "Oh well, then."  
  
He took the PokéBall with the Ditto in it and put it in the Time Capsule. Like it had before, when he tried to send it through time, nothing happened. When he took the PokéBall out, he stumbled, struck his head on the back of the Time Capsule, causing it to activate as he lay in his unconsciousness.  
  
The Espeon closed his eyes and lowered his head.  
  
{It begins,} he muttered. {I've conducted the experiment, and the rest is history.}  
  
He opened his eyes to see Celebi there. He jumped up and got into a defensive stance.  
  
{Calm yourself, Prime,} Celebi said gently. {I am not from Antiwarp. I'm here on behalf of Lady Aigori, who asked me to guide you back to your own time.}  
  
Bill relaxed. {In that case, by all means, lead the way.}  
  
Celebi nodded and produced a breeze with colored sparks floating inside. {I send both you and I back to the time you belong in...}  
  
~~~  
  
Bill and Celebi walked through the forest in the present. The first few moments were in silence, but Bill finally spoke up.  
  
{Celebi, may I ask you something?}  
  
Celebi smiled. {You ARE quite the curious one. Of course you may.}  
  
{If I've tampered with my own past,} Bill said slowly, {why can't I remember any of it? I can't remember seeing an Espeon or being attacked by a Celebi or a Scizor... only the original course where I was alone all that night.}  
  
{It's quite simple,} Celebi replied. {I've fixed your memory so that you can only remember what originally happened.}  
  
{I see...}  
  
The two could hear shouting. A little further took them to the clearing where Bill and the agents were before they went back in time. There, Oracle and Ziggy remained, quarrelling with each other.  
  
"Yeah? Well, you're uglier than me!" Ziggy snapped.  
  
"Well, at least I'm thinner!" Oracle replied.  
  
"Well, at least I don't make blonde jokes come true!" Ziggy countered.  
  
"Blonde jokes!?" Oracle sneered.  
  
"Yeah! You're a blonde, and you're stupid!"  
  
"My hair is white, dumbass! Not blonde!"  
  
"White IS blonde!"*8* Ziggy told her. "And besides, if you see a difference, then maybe you're just an old bat!"  
  
"Hey! I'm younger than you are!" Oracle fumed.  
  
"You sure don't look like it, batty bat bat!" Ziggy smirked.  
  
"HOW DARE YOU!!!" Oracle shrieked.  
  
{I'm sorry. I'm afraid I must go,} Celebi said quickly before leaving.  
  
{Oh boy...} Bill sighed.  
  
Ziggy and Oracle were pulling down their eyelids at each other as they continued to fling insults. Bill blinked and stepped forward before clearing his throat.  
  
{Um... Excuse me, but--}  
  
Both holograms turned sharply to him, let go of their eyelids, and interrupted by yelling, "YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!"  
  
He sighed dejectedly as they continued to go at it. {Oh boy...}  
  
~~~  
  
With no reason to be there, Bill shifted back. He sighed with relief at being back home in his normal body. Without a second thought, he went upstairs.  
  
Not long after, he was stopped by the beeping COM device,*9* held up by a rather pissed off Jude.  
  
"YOU SHIFTED AND DIDN'T TELL ME!?" she seethed.  
  
"Well, I..." Bill smiled nervously. "I didn't want to bother you while you studied for your biology test."  
  
"UGH!" Jude looked away, growled, and balled her hand in a fist as she looked down in anger. "Just great! I'm left out of yet another cool event because of my SCHOOLWORK!"  
  
"There's a good reason for that," Bill told her as he placed a hand on her head (which, by the way, is a bad idea to begin with). "According to your school records, you're not that great in academics."  
  
Jude looked at him with a sharp, fiery glare. Bill got the feeling he shouldn't have said anything and removed his hand from her head. She growled, gave something sort of a war cry, and attempted to tackle him. He moved out of the way and began to run off.  
  
"GET BACK HERE, YOU WIMPY LOSER!!!" Jude screamed.  
  
"What is it with women and me!?" Bill asked himself as he tried to get away from Jude's volcano-like violence.  
  
~~~  
  
In the darkened lab, Crocus and Chester studied a group of chromosomes.*10* So far, nothing seemed to be wrong. That is, until...  
  
"Hold on," Crocus muttered. "There's something attached to that last autosome."  
  
Chester increased the magnification and printed out information about this new segment.  
  
"The sequence..." Crocus muttered as she looked at it. "It... It can't be... can it?"  
  
Nearby, there were stacks of three-ring binders, in each one there were plastic sheets containing paper ones, each with unique information. She took out one and flipped to a certain page. There, she compared the last bits of nucleotide sequences.  
  
"Strange..." Crocus shook her head.  
  
"What is it, doctor?" Chester asked.  
  
"The last bit of DNA on this autosome isn't human," Crocus explained. "I think it's the bit that gives McKenzie his powers. If we sever this bit, we can stop him from shifting permanently. But..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's strange," Crocus said again as she looked at Chester. "This is Pokémon DNA. From the glitch Pokémon, Missingno."  
  
***  
  
End episode 13*11*  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: The AOL chat really doesn't have anything to do with the story (though I might bring Roxy up again sometime). I just thought it'd be fun to do. ^_^;  
  
*2*: This is about a week after Antivirus. By that time, Bill had enrolled Jude into a local public school. How did the school get Jude's records quickly enough to admit her? The wonders of e-mail, my friends. XD  
  
*3*: I'm not completely familiar with Celebi's attacks. Please forgive me if it isn't able to learn this one. ^_^;  
  
*4*: He doesn't actually know what's about to come, but he knows it's something big. (Hai, this IS a foreshadowing involving his ultimate destiny!)  
  
*5*: And sooner or later, I was going to use telepathy. Anything between ^ and ^ (save for underscores in the author's notes, which are smilies ^_^) are telepathic messages.  
  
*6*: He's referring to Celebi.  
  
*7*: I'm aware that Mew can't learn Swift naturally. But there's such thing as TMs, and Mew can use any one of them. -_-  
  
*8*: I'm not sure whether it is or isn't. Old people aren't all blond(e), but if a young person would have white hair, it would most likely be blond(e), if you consider blond(e) to be any pale color hair. And if this makes no sense whatsoever, shut up. I'm tired. -_-  
  
*9*: The COM device beeps whenever the shifter a watcher is assigned to shifts. It keeps beeping until the watcher responds to it.  
  
*10*: I'm aware that there aren't chromosomes in blood. (If I can remember correctly from my own biology class, chromosomes exist during cell division, and blood cells are one of the few types of cells that don't divide.) I can't explain how Chester and Crocus could be studying a group of chromosomes, except perhaps they could have taken a few skin cells as well when they took a sample of Bill's blood. =/  
  
*11*: First off, wow. Even I didn't plan on writing that last bit. ^_^ (It does have a bit of significance -- in fact, it's a foreshadow, but it's a foreshadow on something that's supposed to happen in the third season. O.o;) Secondly, if you're wondering about the coincidence about episode thirteen... in the REAL Pokémon series, episode thirteen is dubbed as "Mystery at the Lighthouse" -- Bill's first (and only) appearance. In episode thirteen (or at least known episode) of Warp Series, we go back to the beginning, the very first episode. As in, Bill's first appearance in Warp Series. Interesting, no? 


	5. See No Evil

Foreword: Well, in another fit of feminine behavior (or at least stereotypical feminine behavior according to SOME men I know *cough-KERO-KATO-cough*), I've changed my mind about moving the stories to a new account. I've thought about it and figured that, though it may be convenient for a few people, it will still be INCONVENIENT for everyone else. However, thanks to Tiggera, I was able to change just my name. Arigatou to Tiggera!  
  
(By the way, you can still call me Mai; I really don't care.)  
  
***  
Episode 14--  
See No Evil  
  
Apollo and Artemis approached Zero at the edge of her lake. Apollo, for once, removed the hood of his cloak, revealing his dark skin, dark hair, and deep, dark eyes.*1*  
  
"Lady Aigori," he addressed.  
  
She turned around to face them.  
  
"Do you know if the Prime is ready?" Apollo asked.  
  
Zero looked back at the lake waters. "So far, he has passed every test I have given him. He proved his willingness to save others when he risked himself and his host to save his watcher. He has proved his determination by keeping history on course. Two tests. Both passed. However, there will be more tests along the way."  
  
"What about the third child?"  
  
Zero smiled. "The third has already proven how much he wants to be part of the prophecy, though he has yet to know it. The legendary Pokémon all have agreed that he has the courage, spirit, and determination needed. He indeed has come far from where he was when Ho-oh had chosen him. The only thing missing is his exposure to our world."  
  
"M'lady, how soon will it be when the prophecy begins?" Artemis asked.  
  
Zero smiled. "Luckily, not until a long time from now. But long is depending on how you look at it. The Prime and the Hero both have sufficient time, but I'm afraid Keios' power will peak within the next two to five years."*2*  
  
"Are you sure this is enough time?" both shifter and watcher inquired at the same time.  
  
There was a short period of silence.  
  
"Yes. I have foreseen it to be enough," Zero replied. "Do not worry. Both will be ready..."  
  
~~~  
  
Ash Ketchum. Johto League near-champion, conqueror of the Houen League, and the one who actually got May off to a decent start. And now, he parts from Brock and May for a bit to go off on his own. To collect Pokémon and raise them to be the best. To be the true Pokémon master.  
  
After all, what's a Pokémon master without Pokémon, no?  
  
He had heard about a fabled cave north of Cerulean City. Its official name was, of course, the Cerulean Cave, but others, those old folks who like to spread rumors to scare the crap out of novice trainers or boost egotism to no end (like one old fellow had inadvertently done to Ash's), call it the Unknown Dungeon.  
  
"Dangerous things up tha' way," the old man said to Ash at the Pokémon Center. "Pokémon at levels beyond your imagination to the left o' ya; Pokémon the same way to the right o' ya. It ain't a pretty thing to walk through, m'boy! Yeh've gotta have a pretty darn good team jes' to get there!"  
  
"Well, I've got a pretty good team!" Ash objected. "My Pokémon took me to the top sixteen of the Pokémon League on the Indigo Plateau, helped me defeat Drake in the Orange Islands, AND got me into the Johto League finals!"  
  
The old man sipped a cup of coffee. "So? They'll all be eaten alive by the Pokémon in there! Trus' me, NO trainer has gotten back from that cave, sonny!"  
  
"If no one had gotten back, how do you know what's inside?"  
  
"I hear stuff. I go fishin' nearby, an' I can hear screamin' from in the heart o' the cave!"  
  
Ash gulped. "Well... Well, I'm not afraid!"  
  
The old man shrugged. "Suit yerself. It's yer own life."  
  
And so, presently, Ash journeyed north of Cerulean City for hours...  
  
...Until it occurred to him that he had no idea where Cerulean Cave is.  
  
He groaned, clutched his stomach in hunger, and managed to tread out of the forest and onto the beach.  
  
"Hey, Pikachu, do you think we could catch a fish for dinner?" Ash asked his Pokémon partner as he stared out to sea.  
  
"Pika pika!" Pikachu tugged on Ash's pant leg and pointed to the south.*3*  
  
"Huh?" Ash looked south to see the lighthouse. "Hey! A lighthouse!" He paused. "Weird... I could have sworn I've been here and said that before..."  
  
"Chuuuu," Pikachu sighed as he shook his head.  
  
Ash shrugged. "Eh! Oh well!"  
  
~~~  
  
He stared at the lighthouse doors as soon as he got there.  
  
"This lighthouse looks weird... and familiar..."  
  
He shrugged and rang the doorbell.  
  
Jude answered it. She opened the door and leaned in the doorway.  
  
"Hey. And who are you? The pizza boy?" she asked.  
  
"Uh, no," Ash replied. "My name's Ash Ketchum. I'm a Pokémon trainer looking for a place to stay and something to eat for the night."  
  
"Does this look like a hotel to you?" Jude asked as she narrowed her eyes. "Go back to town or find a spot in the forest to camp out."  
  
"JUDE!"  
  
Bill covered Jude's mouth and pulled her away from the doorway. He then bowed apologetically.  
  
"Please excuse my sister's behavior," he said politely. "She didn't know that I welcome all Pokémon trainers to stay here for the--"  
  
Bill finally glanced at Ash and stopped short. Ash blinked.  
  
"What?" the young trainer asked.  
  
"Ash... Ketchum?" Bill smiled.  
  
"Wow! Looks like my fame and reputation reaches places before I get to them!" Ash said overjoyed.  
  
"Pika..." Pikachu twitched.  
  
"I see you don't remember me," Bill said with a slight frown. "In any case, please, come on in!"  
  
He stepped aside (dragging Jude with him) to allow Ash and Pikachu inside.  
  
"Sorry," Ash apologized. "I see a lot of people on my journeys. Where have I met you before?"  
  
"Right here."  
  
"Hmm... I know! A.J.! You had a Sandshrew!"  
  
Jude burst out laughing as Bill blinked.  
  
"Ah, no," Bill finally said. "My name is Bill, and I don't own a Sandshrew... Or at least, I don't think I do. I tend to do odd things during a full moon."  
  
The researcher led his sister, the trainer, and the Pikachu toward the living quarters as Ash thought about this for a moment.  
  
"Ah! I remember now!" Ash said cheerfully. "You were the one stuck in the Kabuto costume!"  
  
Bill stumbled but quickly caught himself. A complete lecture on the basics of Pokémon, followed by the sighting of the rarest breed of Dragonite in the world, and all Ash could remember was THAT. He cleared his throat and opened the door leading to the staircase to the living quarters.  
  
"Jude will show you to your room as well as around the living quarters," Bill told him. "I would do this myself, but I'm afraid I have some work to do."  
  
"Hey! Why do I have to show the unwelcomed guest around?" Jude inquired bluntly.  
  
Bill gave her an icy glance. "Jude..."  
  
"I'm going! I'm going!" she sighed as she watched her brother leave before motioning for Ash to go through the door. "Right this way, monsieur."  
  
~~~  
  
"So, tell me again. Why did you let Ash in?"  
  
Bill smiled sheepishly. "Well, I can't just say no to the boy who saved my life twice in one night."  
  
Ziggy cocked her head. "I thought you were even when you shifted into Pikachu."  
  
"I don't see it as the same."  
  
Ziggy shook her head, shrugged, and replied, "Whatever."  
  
"Now, you were telling me something before I went upstairs. Would you mind finishing your thought?"  
  
"Right." Ziggy smiled. "You have to shift."  
  
Bill jumped in surprise. "WHAT!? You... You didn't stop me to tell me that!?"  
  
"Human priorities are confusing," Ziggy explained. "I thought this would be more important than your shift."  
  
"Unless there happens to be someone up there dying, NOTHING is more important than a shift!" Bill told her.  
  
"Hey, you never know," Ziggy replied. "There could have been someone up there dying on your doorstep."  
  
Well, she had a point.  
  
He sighed. "Never mind."  
  
He proceeded to shift out.  
  
~~~  
  
"And on your right is the bathroom," Jude said to Ash in classic, tour-guide fashion. "Further back are the bedrooms. You can take the first one on the left. Back to the left is the living room, and right next to it--" Jude turned around and led Ash to a room on the left. "--is the dining room, slash, kitchen. Listen, our cook took yet another vacation, so if you wake up to an explosion and smell something REALLY foul, Bill's probably trying to make breakfast again. Just wait ten minutes for him to air out the room, then go in, and I'll hold him off long enough for you to get something to eat."  
  
Ash blinked.  
  
"What?" Jude asked.  
  
"Nothing," Ash replied before going off subject. "So, you're Bill's sister, huh?"  
  
He walked into the plain guest room with Pikachu and set his backpack down.  
  
"Yeah. What about it?" Jude asked.  
  
"I don't see a family resemblance."  
  
"Good."  
  
"What's your name, by the way?"  
  
"A lot of people call me Jude. You'd better too."  
  
"Well, a lot of people call me--"  
  
"I know your name."  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
"So, where does your brother work, by the way?" Ash inquired.  
  
"Trust me, you don't want to go down there," Jude replied. "He goes into the cellar, but it might as well be called the Gateway to Chaos. Sure, he looks like he's neat and organized up in the living quarters, but down there, it's like a tornado, hurricane, AND earthquake went through there."  
  
"I think you're exaggerating."  
  
"Suit yourself."  
  
Suddenly, Ash's stomach growled loudly. He put a hand over his stomach and blushed as Jude rolled her eyes, turned, and began walking out of the room.  
  
"Come on," she said. "Let's get something to shut that stomach of yours up."  
  
~~~  
  
Bill woke up and looked around. It was dark and crowded. Wherever he was, whoever used this space was obviously obsessed with the occult. Bottles of strange potions sat on the shelves along the wall, pictures of Tarot cards hung about, candles burned at numerous places, all purple, and in the center, there was a round table which had been covered with a purple cloth and upon which sat a strange, leather-bound book in which an ancient writing he didn't recognize was written.  
  
{Where am I?}  
  
"Xatu? Have you come out of your meditations?"  
  
A woman poked her head out of a doorway concealed by crimson curtains. Her curly, black hair was barely held back by the red ribbon serving as a headband, and her green eyes glittered as much as the jewelry around her neck.  
  
"Wonderful!" the woman exclaimed. "Neptune has as well. Hold on to your vision for a second, and I can retrieve him to compare predictions!"  
  
She disappeared as Bill stared blankly at the curtain.  
  
{Xatu? Vision? Prediction? ZIGGY!}  
  
The hologram appeared in a flash.  
  
"Ooh... Occulty! Interesting..."  
  
{Right. Just tell me my situation,} Bill told her. {I think my charge expects me to do something I have no idea how to do!}  
  
"Okay! No problem," Ziggy replied as she clapped her hands together. "Alright. Your REAL charge, Neptune, is a boy with ESP.*4* You happen to be inside his Xatu, the so-called other half. And your charge's mother, the woman with the curly, black hair, is the shopkeeper for an occult shop right here in Salem.*5* Now for the problem. You see, Neptune's been having these strange visions, like he's going to die in a few days. You've got to stop him from doing so. That's all I can give you on this mission. Sorry."  
  
{It's alright. I know what to do,} he replied before pausing. {Wait... I'm supposed to tell the gypsy something. What should I do?}  
  
"Two words. Ad lib."  
  
{Thanks, Ziggy,} he said sarcastically.  
  
She smiled. "No problem! Now, I've got to fly. Good luck! Ciao!"  
  
She waved and vanished.  
  
The curly-haired woman came back, leading a tall boy with long, straight, aqua hair and his mother's same green eyes.  
  
"Neptune?" the woman inquired.  
  
"Darkness," Neptune replied, lowering his head. "Decay. Blood. Death. Chaos. The inevitable. Mother, I've told you a thousand times. I foresee my own death."  
  
"Hmm..." The woman turned to Bill. "Xatu? Do you have anything to say?"  
  
{Uh... Oh boy... Er...} He couldn't think of anything.  
  
The woman sighed. "Nothing."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
The boy frowned. "Allow me to speak with Xatu alone, Mother."  
  
Neptune's mother nodded slowly and left the room. Neptune himself placed a hand on Bill's head.  
  
"There is something wrong," Neptune commented as he closed his eyes. "I've sensed a new aura."  
  
Bill began to panic, but refused to allow it to show.   
  
There were several silent moments between them before Neptune finally let go.  
  
"I see..." Neptune turned away. "Return from where you cam from, spirit. You can't help me."  
  
With that, Neptune left the room.  
  
~~~  
  
Sun had set a long while ago. Jude had turned the beacon on, just the way she watched her brother do so, and retreated to her room to monitor Bill with the COM device.  
  
In the other guest bedroom, Ash lay back and tried to sleep until Pikachu hopped out of the bed and pawed at the door.  
  
"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash asked with a yawn as he sat up and pulled himself out of bed.  
  
Pikachu glanced back at his human partner, then back at the door. Ash opened the door, letting Pikachu out. The electric rat ran a bit down the hall, then looked back at his trainer.  
  
"You want me to follow you?"  
  
Pikachu nodded.  
  
Ash shrugged and followed the yellow mouse down the steps and into the main hallway. He watched as Pikachu sniffed around, but finally came to a nearly hidden door in the wall, unnoticable, save for the painted doorknob.  
  
"What's in here, Pikachu?"  
  
Ash turned the knob and pulled open the door. Cautiously, he went down into the cellar and indeed found the mess Jude spoke of. The computer monitor was on and showed Ziggy in sleep mode, but the light coming from it lit the room just enough for Ash to see the outline of a hand.  
  
He threw a glance to Pikachu. Pikachu nodded.  
  
Warily, Ash made his way around the desk the hand was poking out from behind and found none other than Bill, lying on the floor, motionless. Ash knelt down, shook him, and got no response.  
  
At this, Ash straightened up and darted up into the living quarters. Hastily, he knocked on Jude's door.  
  
"Hey! Jude! Open up!"  
  
Jude opened the door quickly.  
  
"This had better be good, or I'm kicking your ass," she snapped.  
  
"If I had a nickel for everytime I heard a girl say that," Ash muttered.  
  
"What do you want?" Jude asked.  
  
"Listen, I saw Bill down in the cellar. He's unconscious. I think he's hurt," Ash explained. "I think we need to call an ambulance or something."  
  
Jude looked back at her COM device. Bill hadn't shifted back yet. So how could Ash see...?  
  
"He sometimes falls asleep on the cellar floor when he's been working too hard," Jude lied.  
  
"But why wouldn't he wake up when I shook him?"  
  
"He's a deep sleeper."  
  
"Oh. Okay."  
  
Ash shrugged and retreated back into his room with Pikachu. The yellow mouse cocked his head, shrugged, and followed.  
  
As soon as the door closed, Jude cocked her own head.  
  
"How could he see Bill...?"  
  
~~~  
  
Shadows grew. Red eyes. Claws. Wings. Fangs... The horrifying picture of a creature unknown to him. The chill he got just by looking at it.  
  
"Lady Aigori..."  
  
She fell into its hands like a weak, trembling butterfly. Her eyes closed, and it closed its hands around her as it let out a sinister laugh.  
  
A rush of darkness and cold overwhelmed the young seer's mind.  
  
A light flew from below, trying to get away, but this darkness gripped it with one hand and crushed it.  
  
With Lady Aigori in one hand and pure darkness in the other, the creature let loose dark, cold waves...  
  
~~~  
  
Bill woke up with a jolt. The dream was so vivid. So real that he still felt cold and that this cold reached to his very heart. He gasped for breath, as if he had only just experienced a nightmare. He shook his head and closed his eyes.  
  
{That's what it was. A nightmare,} he mumbled to himself, throwing the thought of a Xatu vision out of his mind.  
  
He rested for a moment, but he couldn't shake the thought of the giant shadow.  
  
'Strange,' he thought as he opened his eyes. 'Nightmares don't tend to bother me.'  
  
"That's because that wasn't just a nightmare."  
  
Bill focused, forcing himself to adjust to the darkness of the room. He could just barely make out Neptune's form. The boy lit two candles to either side of the Xatu, then sat cross-legged on the floor.  
  
"I'm sorry, I hope I wasn't intruding," Neptune said.  
  
{I don't mind.}  
  
"Good. Then allow me to explain,"*6* Neptune said. "Xatu, in their sleep or during their meditations, can see into the future. Because you've possessed my Xatu, you're able to use her ability yourself. Unfortunately, one must have had previous practice or must have been born with the ability to truly harness psychic power. Xatu's precognitive gift let you see your own future."  
  
{How do I stop myself from seeing things like that?}  
  
"You? You can't do anything but leave my Xatu and return to where you came from. That's your only hope for peace."  
  
{Neptune, I've come here to help you, and I refuse to leave until I do!}  
  
"You can't help me. Fate has stated that I die today, and so I'll die today."  
  
{Today?}  
  
"Yes. The clock has struck midnight. I have thirteen hours to live."  
  
Neptune stood.  
  
{Neptune! Wait! I'm not done speaking with you!}  
  
Neptune looked at the Xatu. "What can YOU do to stop Fate?"  
  
{I don't know. Not yet. But I CAN tell you one thing -- all beings have a choice. Fate... Destiny...} Bill lowered his eyes at this. {All living things have a choice. We can either give up, lie down, and blame fate, or we can stand up, take our own lives, and create for ourselves the fate and destiny WE want. Sure, you MIGHT die today, but that's just it. Your gift only told you what MIGHT happen. Perhaps there's a way you yourself can avoid your so-called fate.}  
  
"But the Heavens..."  
  
{...Have nothing to do with it. We are all put on this earth as an experiment. Whatever you might think is up there is only watching us, seeing what we do with our own lives. He -- or She, or whatever -- doesn't write down the way we all end up in a slab of stone. We end up the way we want to end up, and if we die along the way, it's not because of fate; it's because of us.}*7*  
  
"But my predictions NEVER go wrong!"  
  
{Perhaps this is because no one has ever tried to defy them before.}  
  
Neptune looked down at the floor. "No, they haven't."  
  
{Perhaps, then, you can be the first one to do so.}  
  
Neptune's gaze climbed upward. For the first time, he smiled. "Yes, I could!"  
  
He turned and began walking back to his bedroom. He finally stopped and turned around, throwing a curious glance to the Xatu.  
  
"Just out of curiousity, why do you want to help me so badly, Bill?"  
  
{I hate seeing innocent people die.}  
  
"I see." Neptune paused again. "And by the way, about Warp... I'll keep it a secret."  
  
Telepathy. You gotta love it.  
  
Though startled by Neptune's statement, Bill was still able to nod gratefully. {Thank you, Neptune.}  
  
As Neptune departed, Bill sighed and smiled inside as he closed his eyes in weariness.  
  
~~~  
  
The images came again. As clear as they had been before.   
  
A boy with a bow and arrow, aiming at the shadow and firing an arrow of light. Like it had with the spark of light, the shadow crushed it with one clawed hand.  
  
There was a darker figure with a sword and who darted in, slashed across the shadow, and came across on the other side. The shadow simply smacked the figure away with its giant tail and batted away the boy in a similar fashion.  
  
The shadow let loose a laughter that shook the night and made the seer shiver.  
  
"Please... Leave them alone..."  
  
The shadow heard the weak, male voice, and so did the seer.  
  
"Don't... hurt... them..."  
  
The shadow laughed. "Perhaps you would like to see the girl go first, wouldn't you?"  
  
With a free claw, the shadow reached over to grab an unconscious Jude on the ground a few feet away.  
  
"Please... No! Don't hurt her..."  
  
The shadow paid no attention to the voice as he picked up the helpless girl and held her in a strong hand. It laughed.  
  
"What are you to do now, Angel?" the shadow hissed. "With your part of the prophecy unfufilled, I'm free to do whatever it is I want! Starting with..."  
  
The hand gripped her, about to crush her...  
  
~~~  
  
{NO!}  
  
Bill opened his eyes and gasped for breath.  
  
{Jude,} he whispered.  
  
"She's not awake yet. Do you want me to wake her up?"  
  
Ziggy. A welcome voice, for once. He smiled.  
  
{That's alright, Ziggy,} he replied. {I... I just wanted to know if she's alright.}  
  
"Well, she is." Ziggy blinked before continuing, "However, Neptune might not be soon if you don't get moving!"  
  
{What? Where is he?}  
  
Ziggy shrugged. "He left already. And if you want to finish this mission successfully, you'd better get going, find Neptune, and keep a close eye on him!"  
  
{Yes, but where is he?}  
  
"Oh. Sorry. Pokémon Center."  
  
{Thank you, Ziggy!} Bill jumped off of his perch on the table and scrambled across the floor. {Don't you worry. I won't fail!}  
  
As soon as he left, Ziggy smiled.  
  
"I know you won't," she said before disappearing.  
  
~~~  
  
Salem. It's strange. It's a city. It's a time warp. It's both rolled into one.   
  
On one hand, some streets and individual sites are still shadows of hundreds of years ago. The new feeling to each restored building is so accurate and eerie, you almost felt like you went back to the time when so-called witches died emitting bloody screams as their fiery executioner climed slowly up the stake.  
  
Then, there were the slightly modern buildings. The ones which stood in our time, before the Great Catastrophe which created the Pokémon.*8* If you closed your eyes and pictured these parts of Salem, you would be able to see people in their second millenium A.D. fashions, walking down the street, barely caring about terrorists, but still having Iraqis on the mind.  
  
And finally, you had the buildings of the future. The ones Ash and everyone else in the Pokémon world called modern.  
  
And Neptune didn't appear to be in any one of them.  
  
{My job would be SO much easier if I could tell which one is the Pokémon Center...}  
  
Bill stopped as other people walked down the Salem street, taking no notice of him. He realized that the city lacked one thing: obvious signs.  
  
Without a thought, he continued, passing by a single building, unaware of what was going on inside...  
  
~~~  
  
The building he had passed was the Pokémon Center, and inside the square formed by the four walls, Neptune was speaking with a friend of his, a lovely girl with her strawberry-blonde hair tied in a braid going over her left shoulder and down to her bosom and who gazed at others with sapphire eyes.  
  
The rest of the din inside the Pokémon Center was enough to drown out the fair girl's voice, and so eventually, she took Neptune's hand.  
  
"Neptune, I want to tell you something, but I'd like to tell it to you in private," she said. "Will you join me on the roof?"  
  
"Of course, Arcana," he replied.  
  
And so, the girl took Neptune by the wrist and led him to a set of stairs down a hallway whose opening was located in the back of the common room. She gently lifted her denim skirt as her sandaled feet mounted each step.  
  
Second floor. Rooms trainers could use to stay overnight.  
  
Third floor. Chansey and Nurse Joy's quarters.  
  
Roof.  
  
Arcana pushed open a door and led Neptune into the open air on the flat roof, one spot overlooking much of Salem.  
  
Arcana stepped out and took a deep breath as Neptune checked his watch. 12:56. Four minutes until the time he had foreseen as his time of death.*9*  
  
"Arcana?"  
  
She smiled and turned to look at him. "Neptune, we've known each other for a very long time, haven't we?"  
  
"Of course," Neptune replied. "Friends since first grade, if I can remember correctly."  
  
"Well, since our freshman year in high school,*10* I've wanted to tell you something," she said. "Did you... Did you ever pick up on it?"  
  
"On what?"  
  
"I..." Arcana blushed.  
  
"What?" Neptune sat on the parapet lining the roof.  
  
"I... I love you."  
  
Neptune's eyes widened. He knew Arcana for a long time, but he respected her wishes and stayed out of her mind (as in telepathically), so he didn't even expect this.  
  
He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, he slipped and fell over the parapet. Arcana screamed and watched him fall.  
  
~~~  
  
Three stories to fall. Concrete waiting below. Uh, I don't think a skinny kid with no protection would walk away without a scratch.  
  
Neptune just passed the second story when a green and red blur flew past and and caught the psychic in two, red clawed feet.  
  
Bill frantically flapped Xatu's wings in an effort to allow Neptune to land softly on the ground. Neptune breathed a sigh of relief as he was set on the ground and as Bill practically collapsed on the ground.  
  
{I don't mean to be rude, but you're not the lightest person in the world, and Xatu's not the strongest,} Bill commented as he caught his breath (after flying five blocks through an obstacle course of people to catch a young man).  
  
"Sorry, Bill," Neptune whispered. "But thanks for catching me."  
  
Neptune looked at his watch. 1:01.  
  
"I'm okay..."  
  
{I'm hoping you are.}  
  
"No..." Neptune looked to the sky. "I predicted that I was going to die at exactly one o' clock this afternoon. It's one minute after one, and I'm still okay..." He turned to his Xatu. "You were right. Everything you said last night... You were right!"  
  
{Of course I was,} Bill replied with something like a smile.  
  
"Neptune!"  
  
Before he knew it, the young man was embraced by Arcana. She kissed him on the cheek and cried on his shoulder. He looked at her, smiled, and threw one last glance at Bill.  
  
^Thanks for everything,^ Neptune whispered telepathically.  
  
{You're very welcome.}  
  
With that, Bill shifted out.  
  
~~~  
  
At first, it seemed almost as if Bill was asleep. All he saw was darkness, but he knew he had shifted back.  
  
'Don't tell me there's been another mix-up,' he thought with a sigh as he remembered the time he went into Loki's body.  
  
Just then, he heard Zero whisper softly to him. It wasn't telepathic, but it still seemed to come from inside Bill's mind.  
  
"There is something you must know," she said to him. "A third one will come. Marked already with the gift of sight. When you realize he can see you, give him a bit of your gift. It is destiny that makes the Three equal."  
  
"What?" He blinked and fell silent, listening for a whisper which didn't come. "Wait! Zero!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
"I wonder what she means..."  
  
He closed his eyes.  
  
~~~  
  
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the cellar. Not only that, but, he felt someone grab his arm. He gasped, sat up, and looked over, finding himself staring straight at Jude.  
  
"Jude? What's wrong?" he asked, studying her anxious expression.  
  
"Definitely something," she replied. "Bill, Ash saw you. While you were gone."  
  
Bill blinked. "While I was gone?"  
  
Neither of them noticed a Pikachu had come downstairs, followed by a boy looking for the electric rat.  
  
Jude nodded. "He came down here, and he saw you. Even I can't do that without my watcher equipment!"  
  
"He... saw me?"   
  
Bill thought back to what Zero had told him. Suddenly, it all made sense.  
  
"The third one..."  
  
Jude blinked. "What?"  
  
"Ash... I think... I think Zero wants me to make him become a shifter," Bill said.  
  
"A what?"  
  
Both looked up suddenly, to see Ash picking up Pikachu. He had heard most of the conversation but still blinked in his confusion.  
  
"What's a shifter?" he asked.  
  
Jude and Bill looked at each other.  
  
"Oh boy," they said in unison.  
  
~~~  
  
Chester filmed the experiment. One Antiwarp shifter was strapped to an examination table as Crocus approaced him with a syringe.  
  
"Chester?" the doctor addressed as she threw one glance at him.  
  
"Recording, doctor," the assistant replied. "Antiwarp file tape number fifty-one. Experiment thirty. Testing the effects of the drug AS27 on a shifter."  
  
"Good," Crocus said. "This drug contains a chemically-built virus which should alter the DNA and the cells themselves, eliminating any traces of Pokémon in the nucleic acid sequences as well as causing the cells to be incapable of producing enough extra energy for the body to allow it to push one's mind and soul out of it -- in other words, to shift."  
  
"Let's just get this over with, doctor," the subject said with a low growl.  
  
"First, we must thank you for being a willing subject," Crocus told him.  
  
"I've got nothing to live for."  
  
"So you don't."  
  
Crocus cleaned an area on the lackey's arm and injected the liquid. Crocus stepped back, and the entire room went silent.  
  
It remained this way for a few minutes until the lackey gasped, then began to scream and twist in his bonds. Crocus and Chester watched for several minutes... or possibly several hundred. It was hard to tell.  
  
Finally, the screaming died down, and the lackey fell limp. The only thing heard was labored breathing for several minutes before nothing at all.  
  
Crocus discarded the needle and went over to take the subject's pulse.  
  
"Time of death..." She looked at her watch. "3:49 PM."  
  
"Would you say this had been successful, doctor?" Chester inquired, still recording.  
  
Crocus turned her head and grinned at her assistant. "Yes, Chester. Prepare one for use on McKenzie."  
  
***  
  
End episode 14*11*  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: Just letting you know, if anyone hadn't picked this up, but Light Sneasel gets another cameo in the form of Apollo. ^_^ (DarkCatXX and Dr. Thinker may get their own cameos as well; I just need to think of a way to fit them in. o.o)  
  
*2*: Time goes fast in the story, so you won't wait long to find out what happens when this happens. ^_-  
  
*3*: Oddly enough, Ash could see the sunset from the beach during "Mystery at the Lighthouse", making him face directly west and putting Bill's lighthouse to the south. This is a bit ironic because in the game (and just about everything else), not only would Bill's home be to the north of you when you arrive, you're also facing east when you reach the body of water nearby (not counting the Cerulean Cape directly south). O_o;  
  
*4*: This is actually a pun. According to astrology (or, okay, one of my astrology books, Seventeen Total Astrology: What the Stars Say About Life and Love), Neptune is the planet of ESP, spirituality, and illusions.  
  
*5*: Well, it's about time I started giving locations. =p  
  
*6*: Most people think about what they say before they say it (or at least I do -- I'm not sure about most of my classmates and all American politicians. =/), so Neptune can't directly understand what Bill said here. Instead, Neppy used telepathy to "listen" to him.  
  
*7*: Just for the record, this is a personal belief of mine. ^_^; We're all set on this earth by the supreme Spirit (can't say god or goddess because I don't know if whoever is up there is masculine or feminine, and I fear that He/She will smite me if I insult 'em) to live our own lives, and if something happens along the way, it's the fault of either ourselves (suicide, organs dying due to disease, other unpleasant things) or other human beings (uh, homicide). Nope. I don't believe in fate or destiny. I just write about them because they make the story interesting. ^_^;  
  
*8*: Just a reminder, but my belief is that the Pokémon world is set years in the future, after the Moon Stone crashed on earth, spreading radiation which caused the mutations that created Pokémon. (See the prologue to Lost Souls on madgoblin(dot)cjb(dot)net.)  
  
*9*: Get it? Thirteen hundred hours? Thirteen is an unlucky number?  
  
*10*: Neptune and Arcana are in their senior year of high school.  
  
*11*: Okay, first off, I'm aware that I've just made the whole destiny thing confusing. Let's see if I can straighten this out. First off, Zero believes in all destiny, but Bill doesn't believe in celestial-written destiny (destiny written in the stars, so to speak). The latter had simply chosen to follow Zero's requests of "fufilling his destiny" because he wishes to save lives and make the world a better place. Secondly, there's a heck of a lot of foreshadowing in this episode. I hope I'm not annoying anyone with the wait. ^_^; 


	6. Burning Love

Edit (4/29/03): I've changed the chapter title. I have no idea, but this was inspired by Dr. Thinker's suggestion. Don't ask. =/  
  
Foreword: Okay, so THAT'S reason number one for "Why I hate Fanfiction.net". Tyrannical admins who think "running an efficient site" means putting a ban on just about any sort of fic that happens to be remotely fun(ny). -_- Though I understand why they wouldn't want interactive fanfics that use the review option as a message board, I still have one thing to say to whoever deleted the third of my fanfiction (the first being "How Pokémon Characters Would Eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup" and second being "Fun Things to Do at a Backstreet Boys Concert", both posted WAY before those damn restrictions suddenly came to be), and that is simply, "BITE ME!"  
  
(In case you think THAT'S out of line, I highly suggest you don't read my "Tamashii/Fanfiction.net" fics, Dreaded Cyber Black Hole of DOOM! and Tamashii Strikes BACK!. ^_^;)  
  
So, that, plus the fact that I've gotten a sudden addiction to Secret of Mana (on midnight a few nights ago: "Must... Get... Past... Haunted... Woods! DIE, CHOBINS!!!" -- and two nights before that: "Aww... What a cute little thing! Rabite, right? Hello, little fellow... GAH! IT'S NOT FRIENDLY!!!") caused me to slack off a bit, but hey, at least I've got this chapter up. ^_^;  
  
All that babbling aside, here's episode fifteen!  
  
---  
Episode 15--  
Burning Love  
  
There was an unsettling silence between the three humans and one Pikachu. No one moved. No one said anything.  
  
Finally, Bill and Jude glanced at each other, reluctant to do much else.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Ash finally inquired. "Why won't you answer my question?"  
  
Bill sighed. "Well, if Zero wants him to join us, might as well tell him."  
  
"Right. You do the talking," Jude said as she sat in a chair and leaned back.  
  
"Uh... Well..." Bill paused for a moment and looked at the ceiling as he tried to think of a simple way to put what he had to say. "Well, you see..."  
  
"What's a shifter?" Ash repeated.  
  
"I suppose... It's best to start from the very beginning," Bill told Ash before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "About one year and two months ago, I was developing an upgrade to the Time Capsule. Unfortunately, when I tested it, nothing happened. That's when I fell inside, and... I suppose my body absorbed some of the coding. Right then, I became a shifter, one who shifts or transfers their mind and soul out of their body and into one of a Pokémon's."  
  
"Cool...!" Ash released a breath in awe.  
  
Jude rolled her eyes.  
  
"Even Pikachu?" Ash inquired.  
  
"Actually..." Bill put his hands behind his head and looked toward the ceiling. "I've already done that."  
  
"Huh? MY Pikachu?" Ash blinked in disbelief.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"When did that happen!?"  
  
"Uh... Well..."  
  
"Uh, Bill? Get to the important point," Jude told him, suddenly bored.  
  
"Right." Bill nodded to his younger sister before turning back to Ash. "You see, I've been getting help from a friend of mine, Ziggy Alpha, and a mysterious girl named Zero. Zero seems to have some sort of ESP, and she recently told me that you would come here and that I had to turn you into a shifter as well to go along with our destinies."  
  
"Woah..." Ash blinked and set Pikachu down.  
  
"Bill, I think you just overwhelmed the rookie," Jude said. "Congratulations."  
  
Bill ignored her and went on. "Being a shifter isn't easy. During each shift, you're expected to aid and protect a human being. This takes skill, determination, courage, and intelligence. You don't have to become one if you don't feel you can stand up to the sort of pressure shifts can place on you."  
  
"No way! I WANT to be a shifter," Ash replied.  
  
"Are you positive?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
Bill paused for a moment, sighed, and turned to boot up the computer. As soon as he did, however, Ziggy appeared.  
  
"Hey! What's up?" she asked cheerfully.  
  
"Not now, Ziggy," Bill said as he accessed certain programs. "This is important."  
  
"W-wait... THAT'S Ziggy?" Ash inquired.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes," Bill replied with a smirk.  
  
"Unfortunately?" Ziggy growled. "What do you mean by that!?"  
  
"So... Your friend is a virtual pet?" Ash asked.  
  
"I'm not his virtual pet!" Ziggy snapped, blushing due to finding a double meaning in that.  
  
Bill was about to add something more when Jude cut him off.  
  
"Bill's a computer nerd. It shouldn't be surprising," Jude told Ash.  
  
"Thanks, Jude," Bill muttered sarcastically.  
  
"No problem!"  
  
He gave her a single warning glance before clicking on an object at last. The Time Capsule a bit further away seemed to come to life in light and mechanical sound.  
  
"Alright, it's all set up," Bill said to Ash.  
  
"What do I have to do?" Ash inquired.  
  
"I take it the same thing as I did," the researcher replied. "Simply stand in the Time Capsule and wait while I activate the program. The rest should take care of itself."  
  
"Oh! Okay!"  
  
With a grin, Ash went over and stepped inside the machine. Jude pulled at Bill's sleeve until his ear and her mouth were close.  
  
"Out of curiousity, is there any chance that he'll be transported to another place and time?" she whispered.  
  
"Don't be absurd, Jude," he replied just as softly. "The Time Capsule and all versions of it are specifically designed to transport only PokéBalls. So unless we can fit Ash into a PokéBall, he'll remain in this time and place physically."  
  
"Damn," Jude cursed before another idea came to mind. "Wait... One last question. You don't know if this will really turn Ash into a shifter, do you?"  
  
"No, not really," he admitted. "However, we're about to find out."  
  
He pressed the enter key to activate the machine.  
  
In its familiar display of lights, the Time Capsule activated with Ash inside. A few moments later, the chaos of light and noise died down, and the boy in the center of it vanished.  
  
"Jude, get your equipment," Bill instructed. "You have a new shifter to look after."  
  
"But... I thought I was supposed to look after you!" Jude protested. "Why do I have to handle the rookie?"  
  
Bill sighed. "Just do it."  
  
Jude rolled her eyes and headed off to get her gear.  
  
~~~  
  
Ash slowly woke up and shook his head.  
  
{Woah... Weird...}  
  
He yelped as he heard the change in his voice. He looked around, finding himself in the lap of a thirteen-year-old girl riding in the backseat of a car. She pulled strands of her long, light brown hair behind her ear as her violet eyes sparkled at him from behind large, wire-rimmed glasses.  
  
"Glad to see you awake, Marill!" she said cheerfully.  
  
{Marill? Why would she call me Marill?} Ash asked himself as the girl looked out the window.  
  
"Think, genius. Why WOULD she call you Marill?"  
  
Ash looked over to see Jude.  
  
{How did you get here!?}  
  
"I'm a hologram," she replied. "I'm projected to you to give you information and support, and only you can see and hear me."  
  
{Woah...}  
  
"Right. Anyways, to start you off, Zero decided to give you an easy task. This girl, Amy, is involved with something short of a Romeo and Juliet story. She's in love with a friend of hers, Mikhael*1*, but both of their fathers... Let's just say they don't get along. Your job is to help Amy out by figuring out what's up with their fathers, then get the two together. Got it?"  
  
{Why couldn't I have gotten something cooler?}  
  
"Because you're a rookie who doesn't get to choose his missions?"  
  
{Hey!}  
  
Jude smirked. However, Ash still looked confused.  
  
{Will I be stuck like this forever?}  
  
Jude closed her eyes and shook her head. "Now THAT'S a stupid question. Think, Ash. If shifting were permanent, do you honestly think Bill would be walking around in his human body right now?"  
  
{Oh.}  
  
"Okay, kiddo. You're giving me a headache. Good luck!"  
  
With that, she disappeared.  
  
~~~  
  
"Thank you, oh Princess of Cats,"*2* Bill said sardonically with a sigh, overhearing everything Jude had said to Ash. "Can you be ANY harder on him?"  
  
Jude took off her visor. "Uh... Yes?"  
  
"That was a rhetorical question."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Bill smirked at his younger sister. "You know... I think you two are perfect for each other."  
  
Jude heard this and abruptly turned, shaking a fist dangerously close to her brother's face.  
  
"Take that back, or you're going to eat this," Jude warned.  
  
He laughed casually and pushed her fist a little bit away from his face. "Relax. I only meant you two have a lot to learn. So, if I paired the two of you up in a partnership, perhaps you can learn from each other. I didn't mean it in a romantic sense, but now that you mention it, you ARE getting a bit red in the face about it..."  
  
BAM!  
  
"Wow, she can hit!" Ziggy commented as her emerald eyes widened and as she watched Bill stumble back in a daze after getting punched in the face by Jude.  
  
"Don't read into it!" Jude snapped.  
  
"I'll remember that," he replied, half recovered from the post-hit daze.*3*  
  
~~~  
  
Night had fallen, and nothing eventful happened before then. However, when Amy was busy doing her homework (with Ash acting as something short of a paperweight), a stone struck her window. Curious, she got up as another struck the glass. She opened the window and looked down to the ground, with a story separating her from it.  
  
Ash, also curious, waddled to a bench under the window, hopped upon it, and looked down as well.  
  
Below, a sixteen-year-old*4* young man stood, bright, amber eyes staring up at Amy, long, dark, straight hair blowing slightly in the wind, as did his loose clothing.  
  
"But soft!" he quoted. "What light, through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and dear Amy is the sun."  
  
Amy smiled. "Mikhael."  
  
'Holy crap!' Ash exclaimed mentally. 'THAT'S Mikhael!?'  
  
"Sweet Amy," the boy addressed with a grin. "How have you been?"  
  
"I've been alright," Amy replied. "But you won't be if you stay around here for too long. You've got to get out of here before my father catches you!"  
  
"Your father doesn't scare me."  
  
"He will!" Amy sighed. "I wish we could be together, but it's that stupid fight between our parents?"  
  
"Why don't we be like Romeo and Juliet and make peace between them?"  
  
"But... Didn't they die to do that?"  
  
There was silence.  
  
"Amy, I want to be with you," Mikhael replied. "You're way different than any other girl I've met!"  
  
Amy sighed. "I know. But..."  
  
"Amy! Who are you talking to?" an authoritive male voice asked from the other side of her bedroom door.  
  
"Mikhael! Go!" Amy pleaded.  
  
The door opened, but still, Mikhael didn't move.  
  
"Amy!" A tall and large man walked straight to the window, looked down, and grew red in the face with anger before hollering at Mikhael. "Get off my property before I call the cops, Thorne! And stay away from my daughter!"  
  
At this, Mikhael turned and casually walked off the property as Amy's father slammed the window shut.  
  
"Stay away from him, Amy," her father told her as he began to walk to the door. "Thornes are nothing but trouble."  
  
"But Papa!"  
  
"And to make sure you stay away from him, you're hearby grounded -- no telephone, no walking out of the house after school, nothing," her father said. "I'll take you to school every morning and pick you up after you get off the bus. Otherwise, every single time you see that Thorne boy, you're to turn around and walk away. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Yes, but Papa--"  
  
"This is for your own good, Amy," her father replied. "The Thornes are nothing but thieves who will only hurt you."  
  
"Papa!"  
  
He walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.  
  
{Huh...?} Ash cocked his head.  
  
~~~  
  
"According to what Ash just heard," Jude said, reading off the COM device, "the quarrel is between a Thorne family and some other family. Hey, Bill, do you think we could look something up about this?"  
  
"You've got to be kidding me," he replied with a grim expression. "'Thorne' is an incredibly common name. By the time we've pulled something up, Ash would have completed his mission."  
  
"Speaking about missions, you have one yourself," Ziggy interrupted.  
  
"What?" Bill looked at Ziggy. "I can't leave Ash right now! He'll need my help to get back!"  
  
"Why don't you just tell everything to Jude?" Ziggy suggested. "Then she could relay it to Ash when he's ready."  
  
Apparently, this hadn't crossed Bill's mind. While red with embarrassment, he took Jude's COM device, pressed a few buttons, and gave the device back to her.  
  
"When Ash is ready to return, go to him and read this," Bill instructed.  
  
"Got it," Jude replied with a nod.  
  
"Good."  
  
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly let it back out as he shifted out.  
  
~~~  
  
{Maybe if I listened to Amy's parents, I'd be able to find out what's up between them and those Thorne people,} Ash said to himself as he hid in a closet near the kitchen, where Amy's parents had just gotten together to discuss their daughter.  
  
"Tom, don't you think you're being too harsh on Amy?" the mother asked. "I mean, it's all just a little fight between you and Peter..."  
  
"A little fight?" Tom growled. "Veronica, it's more than just a little fight! Peter took something from me, and he has yet to admit it!"  
  
Veronica sighed. "Oh, Tom, it was just a little thing. Honestly, I've never heard you care about anything more than that Pokémon egg..."  
  
"That Pokémon egg would have hatched another son or daughter," Tom told Veronica.  
  
"Oh, quit talking about this nonsense!" Veronica snapped with an annoyed voice. "What about our REAL daughter, Amy? I say she has a right to be with Mikhael, and the only thing that makes me uncomfortable about it happens to be how young the two of them are!"  
  
"Like father, like son!" Tom exclaimed. "If Peter is a thief, then that boy of his most likely is one too!"  
  
Veronica sighed once more. "You're a stubborn as a sleeping Snorelax!"  
  
"And I intend to stay that way, too!" Tom yelled.  
  
Veronica sighed a third time.  
  
{So that's what's up,} Ash muttered. {Hey, Jude!}  
  
She appeared behind him, partially embedded in the wall due to the cramped space.  
  
"Yeah, Ash?"  
  
{Can you do me a favor and ask Bill for some advice here?}  
  
"No can do, Ashy boy," Jude replied. "He's off on his own mission."  
  
{HE LEFT ME!?}  
  
Jude ignored him. "But if you want my personal opinion, I'd say find a way to get Peter and Tom together for a civilized chat. Good luck!"  
  
{Huh? Hey! WAIT!}  
  
Unfortunately, Jude vanished at that moment.  
  
{Some helper SHE turned out to be...}  
  
~~~  
  
Bill shifted in... and dropped several feet, landing on the ground with a thud. Wincing at the sudden pain, he opened his eyes and tried first to figure out how he did it... then realized he was in the body of a Pidgey, presumably in mid-flight when he shifted in. Okay, so that explains everything.  
  
He stood up and looked around, trying to figure out where he was. All he saw was tall grass on the outside of a town. He paused in confusion before he was startled by an explosion somewhere in town.  
  
{What on earth...!?}  
  
He prepared to take off, intending on scoping out this sudden display, when Ziggy appeared.  
  
"Where are YOU off in a rush to?" she asked.  
  
{If you haven't noticed, there had been an explosion in town, and I'd like to check it out,} he explained.  
  
"Well, don't you want to know how it happened and why you're here first?"  
  
He stopped, turned around, and stared at her. {What do those two things have to do with each other?}  
  
"Everything." She smirked and continued. "You see, you're in the body of a Pidgey to help out a young man... who happens to also be a shifter."  
  
{What?}  
  
"Remember Mondo?"  
  
{How could I forget him?}  
  
"Right. Well, he's getting to be out of control, so Zero sent you in to pass on the secret to controlling the time at which one shifts," Ziggy explained. "That way, Mondo can go back to his human body and stay there to rest his now-fragile mind. Got it?"  
  
{I understand.} Bill nodded. {I'll do my best.}  
  
"Good," Ziggy said. "And good luck. You're going to need it. Ciao!"  
  
She waved and disappeared.  
  
Suddenly, Bill realized something.  
  
{Wait a minute! What do you mean by 'out of control'!?}  
  
~~~  
  
Ash thought long and hard about what to do. The planning alone gave him a headache, but soon, he came up with an idea. It was complex to him, forcing him to use guts and skill to do something that would have otherwise been illegal. This illegal activity was something out of character for him, but without being able to talk, it was the most he could do.  
  
When two-thirty rolled around the next day, a weekday, no less, he found Mikhael and followed him home. Step one.  
  
Next, he searched the house, and was able to find an older, grayer, stout Peter Thorne. Step two.  
  
"Hey! What's little thing like you doing here?" Peter inquired, watching the mouse look around, running around the room.  
  
Finally, Ash jumped up on a table, grabbed a random object, and ran like a bat out of Hell, trying to reach the exit.  
  
"HEY! Get back here!"  
  
Ash heard Peter's footsteps behind him, but he didn't look back. Step three was falling into place.  
  
Quickly, he bolted out of the doggy door cut into the wood of the full door and ran faster as a Growlithe barked behind him. He didn't look back as the door opened behind him, allowing Peter to chase him. He continued running as fast as he could on those tiny Marill legs, onto a familiar piece of property across the street and into arms of Tom, who had just returned from his day at work.  
  
"What the...? What do you have here?" Tom pried the object, a photo within a pewter picture frame, out of Ash's stubby forepaws.  
  
"Little thief!" Peter roared as he stepped onto Tom's property. "Your little rat ran into my house, stole that wedding photo, and ran off with it!"  
  
"I guess he was just getting revenge," Tom snapped in return. "You stole something of mine, so he stole something of yours!"  
  
"I oughta get Officer Jenny down here!"  
  
"Go right ahead!"  
  
Amy stepped out of the house and stood on the front porch as Mikhael crossed the street and stood at the edge of the lawn. In the meantime, Peter pulled out his cell phone.  
  
"But if you try to get me arrested for something my daughter's Pokémon did," Tom said, "then it's only fair if I get you arrested for making off with that Pokémon egg during that barbeque we had together three years ago!"  
  
"I didn't take it!" Peter argued. "You lost it, you irresponsible oaf!"  
  
"Papa, I think I should tell you something," Amy told him softly. "It's about that egg..."  
  
"Not now, sweetie," Tom muttered to Amy before speaking again to Peter. "Now, who do you think you are, coming on my property, scaring my daughter's Pokémon, AND accusing me of losing my own Pokémon egg!"  
  
"Amy, tell them!" Mikhael urged.  
  
"Papa!" she called.  
  
"Stay out of this, little girl!" Peter yelled.  
  
Tom's face grew red with rage. "How dare you speak to my daughter that way!"  
  
"Papa, he didn't steal the egg!" Amy cried.  
  
The fighting stopped. Both men stared up at her.  
  
"Mikhael and I took it," she explained.  
  
"That's right," Mikhael admitted. "We were both curious; we've never seen one before. So, Amy and I went inside while you two were talking outside, and we took the egg."  
  
"We were going to put it back," Amy added. "But when we wrapped it in a coat to keep it protected, it got warm and hatched."  
  
"The first thing it saw was Amy, so she took it and hid it for awhile until her mother found it," Mikhael said. "She told me that when we were taking care of it during our secret rendezvous."  
  
"We didn't want to tell the both of you because you both became so angry at each other it scared us," Amy told them. "We kept it secret until we decided we had to end the fighting."  
  
"We didn't know when. That's when Marill stole that picture and got you two together. I suppose we both gathered enough courage at this point to tell you."  
  
"Where is the Pokémon that hatched out of the egg?" Peter asked.  
  
"The egg hatched into an Azurill," Amy replied. "Mikhael and I got it to evolve into Marill."  
  
"So, all this time, the Pokémon hatchling I wanted so much was living right under my nose," Tom muttered before turning to Peter. "Peter, I owe you an apology. I didn't know."  
  
"Neither did I," Peter replied as he held out his hand. "I'm sorry, my friend."  
  
Tom let go of Ash and took Peter's hand in a firm shake.  
  
"Apology accepted," Tom said.  
  
Amy and Mikhael smiled at each other as Ash went around to the back of the house. There, Jude appeared.  
  
"Okay, Ash," she said. "Ready to get back to the lighthouse?"  
  
{You bet!} Ash replied.  
  
"Great. Then I've got a set of instructions that will take you back."  
  
~~~  
  
{Mondo!} Bill called, flying as swiftly as he could at a high enough altitude so as not to be struck down by the Charmeleon below.*5*  
  
The Charmeleon ignored him, then ignited the wooden wall of an old shop. People ran out of the building, screaming.  
  
{Mondo! Please, stop!} Bill begged. {Listen to me! I can help you!}  
  
Mondo said nothing, setting fire to the clothing of a bystander who tried to stop him.  
  
It had gone on like this for an hour or so, and even Bill's patience had its limits. He could no longer simply try to speak with Mondo at one of the ex-Rocket's violent hours. Bill had to do something before this pyro went any further!  
  
{Mondo!}  
  
When once more, he got no response, Bill's patience finally completely ran out.  
  
{You leave me no choice,} he said softly. {Please forgive me for this.}  
  
The Pidgey stopped and flapped its wings rapidly, kicking up the dust that coated the tiny town's streets. The brown cloud swirled around Mondo as a Sand Attack. Surprised, the Charmeleon stopped in its tracks.  
  
{I've got to weaken Mondo,} Bill said to himself. {I'm not sure if my host can take on a Charmeleon, but I can't back out of this!}  
  
He quickly went in as the dust settled a bit and used a Quick Attack. This only angered the Charmeleon, who spat out a firey Ember at him. Bill dodged this and struck back with Gust, picking up the Charmeleon and slamming him back down on the ground.  
  
The Prime eyed the tail flame on the lizard, hoping for it to shrink slightly. Instead, it grew to an enormous size as Mondo stood back up.  
  
Bill gasped and flew around Mondo in quick circles. He knew this move. Rage. He couldn't let Mondo strike him because one hit could most likely mean a KO. He knew he also couldn't strike the Charmeleon himself, for physical hits only fed the Rage move.  
  
Mondo lashed out, trying to strike the small bird but missing every time. The flame was dying once more as Mondo slowed, giving Bill the opportunity to use Sand Attack once more. Mondo continued to wear himself out, trying hard to get the sand out of his eyes and strike Bill at the same time.  
  
Finally, the Charmeleon collapsed, exhausted. Bill landed as well, close to the lizard's head, with absolutely no fear.  
  
{Mondo, do you want to return to your normal form?} Bill inquired.  
  
Weakly, in a hoarse whisper, Mondo replied, {More than anything.}  
  
{Good. Then do exactly as I say...}  
  
~~~  
  
"Close your eyes," Jude instructed Ash.  
  
Ash blinked. {Why?}  
  
Jude sighed. "Just do it."  
  
Ash shrugged and closed his eyes. {If this is what Bill told you to tell me, then I'll do it.}  
  
"Good. Now, concentrate on controlling when you shift. Think only about that."  
  
{Alright.}  
  
"Shut up and do it."  
  
~~~  
  
Not long later, Mondo shrieked as a dull light began to engulf him.  
  
{Stay with me, Mondo!} Bill implored. {Fight it!}  
  
Mondo twisted around, trying to keep himself in.  
  
{You can do this, Mondo!}  
  
One last scream, and the light died down. The Charmeleon breathed heavily.  
  
Bill took a slight step forward. {Mondo?}  
  
~~~  
  
The faint blue light that surrounded Ash died down.  
  
{Woah... What was that...?} Ash asked.  
  
"Congratulations," Jude told him. "You've just saved yourself from a random shift."  
  
{But how do I get back!?}  
  
"Oh, that's easy." Jude smiled and read off the COM device. "Concentrate only on going back to your normal body."  
  
{Isn't there anything about shifting that DOESN'T involve concentration?}  
  
"No."  
  
{AUGH!}  
  
"Do you want to go back to your body or not!?"  
  
{Yeah. I want to go back.}  
  
"Then shut up and concentrate."  
  
Ash growled and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, he shifted back.  
  
~~~  
  
{Mondo, can you hear me?}  
  
{Dr. McKenzie... It hurts.}  
  
Bill stepped back, allowing Mondo to sit up. But he didn't.  
  
{What hurts?} Bill asked.  
  
{Being in this body,} Mondo whispered. {How do I get back?}  
  
{Oh... Concentrate on returning to your normal body.}  
  
Mondo closed his eyes. {Thank you, doctor.}  
  
With that, Mondo shifted back.  
  
Bill would have at that point as well, but a strange feeling overcame him. Something he hadn't previously felt. Another sort of pale light spread about him, and he could feel his host's form changing. He thought about screaming, but in a way, it felt good. Like shedding a layer of clothing to feel slightly more... liberated.*6*  
  
The light faded, allowing Bill to take one last look at his host, now a Pidgeotto.  
  
'Well, congratulations, Pidgey,' he thought as he shifted back.  
  
~~~  
  
It was agreed that Ash was to stay at the lighthouse until all this about destiny was finally figured out and whatnot. It was easy to make up an excuse; Ash told his mother that he wanted to learn as much as he could about Pokémon, so he decided to take a few lessons from a world-renowned Pokémon researcher. The bubbly, middle-aged woman*7* bought it, regardless of the fact that there's a world-renowed Pokémon researcher, namely Professor Oak, living just up the street from her.  
  
A few days later, Bill received a message from Zero to go to the St. Mary Asylum in Saffron City. Without a second thought, he accepted and found himself two days later, walking down a bleak, white hallway, following a male nurse.  
  
The male nurse stopped at a door, turned around, and spoke.  
  
"Well, this is it," he said to Bill. "Got to warn you, though, Dr. McKenzie. The kid's dangerous. We've only had him for four days after someone found him wandering around Saffron in some sort of delirious daze, and already, he's attacked a lot of the nurses around here, thinking he's all these different Pokémon. If you run into any trouble, someone'll be waiting outside."  
  
"Thank you," Bill replied politely as he entered the room.  
  
Sitting at a table, dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and pants, was Mondo, staring out the nearby window. Cautiously, Bill stepped in as the male nurse gently shut the door.  
  
"Mondo?"  
  
Mondo slowly turned his head. His eyes were so feral they startled Bill. Slowly, the researcher slipped into a chair across the small, square table from Mondo.  
  
"Mondo, a girl told me to see you," Bill said.  
  
"Zero," Mondo muttered with a hoarse voice. "I know her. I saw her everytime I shifted. She's why... I... I lasted... so long."  
  
He twitched as Bill paused.  
  
"She says... When someone fails a shift, they take a bit of the Pokémon..." Mondo told Bill. "She... meant... mentally. You'll hurt yourself... physically. All those Pokémon... drove... me crazy. Hurt me... inside..."  
  
He stopped and let out a painful Spearow's cry, a shadow of yet another host.  
  
"What else did she tell you?" Bill inquired cautiously.  
  
Mondo fell silent. Bill placed a hand on the table and waited, watching Mondo with worried eyes. Slowly, Mondo's hands drifted over, took Bill's hand, and turned it over, palm up. The two were silent as Mondo stared at the other's hand.*8*  
  
"Your light," Mondo mumbled.  
  
"Pardon me?" Bill blinked, trying to figure out what Mondo was doing with his hand.  
  
"You're the one," Mondo said. "Your light alone... will get rid of the chaos...*9* Zero... She said, inner strength will make the light... brighter. Brighter light... will destroy the darkness. The brightest light... is inside... you."  
  
Mondo ran his fingers over the lines in Bill's palm.  
  
"I can see it," the ex-Rocket muttered. "Your light... is beautiful..."  
  
Okay, now Bill was just getting uncomfortable. Mondo looked into Bill's eyes.  
  
"You'll see it too," Mondo told him. "Not too long from now... No longer than a year and a half..."  
  
Bill withdrew his hand. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Mondo shrieked before giving an eerie Houndoom call, followed by a lunge at Bill.*10* Two male nurses burst into the room and grabbed Mondo, attempting to restrain him and sedate him with a mysterious liquid in a syringe. Meanwhile, a female nurse walked in and took a shocked Bill by the arm.  
  
"Come, Dr. McKenzie," she said softly. "I'll escort you out of here."  
  
"Please," Bill replied, no longer wanting to watch any other asylum activity.  
  
He stood up and followed the female nurse out of the building, all the while thinking about what Mondo meant about "the light"...  
  
***  
  
End episode 15*11*  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: Boy Meets Boy reference. For those of you who have never seen the comic (boymeetsboy(dot)keenspace(dot)com), Mikhael is a Russian millionaire and artist along with Harley's eternal love. (Yep. Mikhael-sama's homosexual. And yet I really, REALLY like him and happen to have him on my bishounen list. Too bad he wouldn't have any interest in me due to that homosexuality factor... ;_;)  
  
*2*: One of many references to Romeo and Juliet in this episode. (You know you've Shakespeare that too much when... *sighs, wondering when the Romeo and Juliet unit in her English class would end*) In the play, Tybalt (Juliet's hot-headed cousin) was once referred to by Mercutio (a friend of Romeo's) as the Prince of Cats, meaning he likes to pick fights. Here, Jude isn't really trying to pick a fight, but she's REALLY close to pissing SOMEONE off, and that's close enough. -_- (This also reveals a character trait of Jude's. She's spunky, just like her brother, but she isn't afraid to kick someone's ass... even for no reason.)  
  
*3*: Heh heh... Spirit bless the one who came up with comic relief... XD  
  
*4*: For the record, I think in the play, Romeo and Juliet, Romeo was sixteen, and Juliet was thirteen, almost fourteen. And yet, they eloped by this age. ...Reminds me of how I used to set my Skipper (Barbie's little sister) dolls up with Ken... o.o;  
  
*5*: If you really want to know how Mondo created the explosion, it was simply this -- he set fire to a gasoline station. (Really odd that they would have one in a town not unlike the one where Ash got the Super Potion in "Here Comes the Squirtle Squad", where the most used form of transportation would be walking... =/)  
  
*6*: I didn't mean anything sick by that, but if you truly want to think that way, I highly suggest getting your mind out of that nasty gutter. That helps in multiple ways. Such as preventing your mind from getting coated in a bunch of leaves. That and you don't know what's been in that gutter. =p (For those of you who got that, I applaud you for understanding the dry side of my sense of humor. ^_^;)  
  
*7*: Somehow, I don't find that natural. No woman in her thirties (and I'm hoping Deliah -- Ash's mother -- IS in her thirties or even forties) is THAT hyper. O.o;  
  
*8*: Hai, this WAS inspired by a scene in The Ring, where Becca turns Rachel's hand over, stares at her palm, and whispers, "Four days." (The movie was such an embarrassment to the horror category that it was funny, but I still thought it rocked, even IF it didn't remotely scare me. XD)  
  
*9*: He means Keios. And yes, this all is MAJOR foreshadowing. And yes, I love the stuff. XD  
  
*10*: Provoked by the "light". Houndooms are of the dark element AND are nocturnal, making them darkness lovers. In other words, this should come as no surprise.  
  
*11*: Well, now I've got another new shifter to play with! =D And soon, Apollo and Artemis will join full-time as well! YAY! XD And by the way, yes, I'm aware that there was once a REAL Pokémon episode by the name of "All Fired Up!" (unless I dreamt that), but it was the best thing I could think of. It's supposed to be a sort of pun in reference to Peter and Tom's firey feud, plus the fact that Mondo had been in Charmeleon. If you could think of a better title, I'd like to hear it. -_- 


	7. Experimentation

Foreword: Yep. It's about bloody time. Review reply day! =D  
  
-To DarkCatXX, for episode eleven: You're welcome for the mention. And by the way, I welcome predictions about hosts. Some give me inspirations. ^_^  
  
-To Light Sneasel, for episode twelve: Well, I'm happy I gave you an idea that can help you get out of cleaning your room. =D (Trust me, it's helped me for about a year. It works. XD Unless, of course, your mother is a bit stricter than mine is... ^_^;)  
  
And thanks for allowing me to put up the info. ^_^  
  
-To Tiggera, for episode twelve: Yes, I had mentioned that. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find time (or inspiration) to use that idea in a complete episode... And it takes a LOT of failed missions to have much of an effect.  
  
Originally, I was planning on using this bit to be able to use a hybrid/chimera idea somewhere in Warp Series, but to keep away from using TOO many overused plots, I just stuck with the "it makes you crazy" idea... =/  
  
-To Light Sneasel, for episode thirteen: Yes, after you commented the first time (for Trading Spaces) that you thought that the arguments between Oracle and Ziggy were humorous, I've tried to fit in more. After all, they're fun to write, and if people like them, I'd be more than happy to write more of 'em. =D  
  
By the way, yes, Bill IS going to be a major threat to the forces of evil. (Wow... That... kinda sounded like a Sailormoon plot... ^_^;) Just wait, and the story will get a bit more interesting when I build upon this... ^_-  
  
Hmm... Well, you've given me a few good ideas with that last paragraph of yours. However, you've just provided yourself with another new mystery to solve because of that. (Hate to be sadistic, but one isn't supposed to just READ Warp Series; they're supposed to think about it a bit, too. And you're doing a great job of that, LS-sama. ^_^)  
  
-To DarkCatXX, for episode thirteen: Well, it looks like you're on to something with the TCB. ^_^  
  
-To blue-eyes toon dragon, for episode thirteen: Quantum Leap is a science fiction television show about a scientist (Dr. Sam Beckett) who is forced to "leap" (take on their lives for a brief moment in time, though how seems to be a controversy -- I do, however, know that a part of him "occupies their aura".) into people across time (meaning, anytime in his own lifetime) as a result of a time traveling experiment gone wrong. This is only a basic summary of the story, but the rest of it might make this bit a LOT longer and much more complicated than anyone wants to deal with, so I highly suggest looking it up on Google or going to quantumleap-alsplace(dot)com, which has a fair amount of good sites listed on its linkage page. ^_^  
  
-To Tiggera, for episode thirteen: Indeed. I suppose people just don't do too many fanfics about/involving Porygon because, well, it's so dang hard to get (Trust me, 9999 coins takes a long time to obtain! Even the easy way of constantly buying coins! ...And Game Shark tends to get messy... at least for me... o_o;), and no one really appreciates it too much due to the dreaded seizure episode. (Dun, dun, dun!) But it's a shame because Porygon really IS pretty cool... XD  
  
-To Dr. Thinker, for episode thirteen: Thanks for the suggestions! I'll think about them. ^_^  
  
-To Kirari, for episode fourteen: It should be third-millenium, if you count year 0 to year 999 as being the first millenium. ^_^; But anywho, I couldn't remember what to call this decade (you know, like "the 90's" refers to 1990-1999, "the 60's" refers to 1960-1969, etc.) without going all cliché-y and saying "2K". (Trust me, it IS a bit of a cliché. There's a heck of a lot of things involving "2K", including, if anyone's familiar with Will and Grace, "Just Jack... 2K!")  
  
Yes, it's incredible how much danger Ash gets himself into. The boy's danger prone, I tell you! *cowers in fear*  
  
Thirdly, just because I said "drug" doesn't mean I meant "medicine". I mean, arisol can be considered a drug if abused; cigarettes are drugs; alcohol in beer is a drug on a level, and acid... It's a flat-out drug which never had a medical purpose to the best of my knowledge. O_o; (Or did it...? o.o;) All in all, that's a hidden message saying don't do drugs! *imitates Warren from Greg the Bunny for a moment* Just say no! Stay in school! *sings* I'm a little teapot... XD  
  
(How I miss Greg the Bunny... ^_^)  
  
-To Light Sneasel, for episode fourteen: On your comments on just how "easy" it will be to get rid of Bill, indeed it will be a bit difficult. While naturally, you just can't get rid of him that easily (meaning, in the way Crocus is going to try to get rid of him -- he's got to be too cunning for that... well, anyone is, I should say), even if Crocus injected the drug/virus into him, you know he'd make it out alright because I would make it that way... even if it takes countless plot holes. ^_^;  
  
I get what you're saying about destiny, and I'm glad we share similar views... slightly different. I can't say too much else due to a risk of being repetitive. o_o;  
  
As for your guess about Keios, though I shouldn't say flat-out that you're right, I will anyways. ^_^; Of course, you'll have to wait until later for a little clarification. ^_-  
  
-To DarkCatXX, for episode fourteen: You didn't think I'd continue...? Oh, dear, I wouldn't leave people hanging. (Oh wait... That was hypocritical... *coughs as she looks back at the countless plot bunnies accumilated on the MFC*) Don't you worry, I'll finish this fanfiction or deny my fangirlish devotion to Sonezaki Masaki! =D  
  
As for your second review, there should be a blue bar at the top of your screen, on which are two white links. One says "Register"; the other reads "Log in." If you don't have an account yet, click "Register" and follow the directions. If you DO have an account, click "Log in." From there, it should be self-explanitory, but if you run into any other problems, simply e-mail me. (zeroseven@tokyo.com) I'll be happy to help. ^_^  
  
-To Tiggera, for episode fourteen: Yes, I like your sign-off, and I get the joke behind it. Cute! ^_^  
  
To Light Sneasel, for episode fifteen: Yes, I agree with you about Ash and his mother. (It just scares me that they're both THAT hyper sometimes... ^_^;) Yes, there's a chance that Mondo might improve (as will Loki, though he won't want to go after Bill anymore) for the sake of the storyline. And finally, yes and no about the Keios thing. You'll just have to wait and see... ^_-  
  
-To DarkCatXX, for episode fifteen: 'Tis okay. I don't (as in didn't, still don't, and probably won't) take your comment in a bad way. Yes, admittedly, it IS a bit different, but perhaps it's because I forced Bill to share the spotlight... Or did you mean that it's just different, period? ^_^;  
  
-To Dr. Thinker: Thank you very much for reminding me of that episode. ^_^; And MUY gracias for the new episode title, which, as you probably have noticed, hadn't been put into use (because I just couldn't seem to make it work -- his name is Shakespeare, with the e at the end, and that, unfortunately, makes a difference), but it HAS inspired me to make up a new title. I really don't know how I was inspired to do an Elvis-related title from your suggestion of a Shakespeare-related title, but then again, I HAVE been known to think up some QUIRKY things... ^_^; (Such as that Napoleon with an Italian accent thing... o.o;)  
  
Wow. That seriously took two pages. O_o; Well, to compensate, I'll give you a nice, juicy episode... which some (*coughLScough*) might find a bit coincidential... =D  
  
***  
Episode 16--  
Experimentation  
  
"Ash wants to ask you what you think he should do next."  
  
"Tell him that if he wants to get through this safely, he shouldn't look down, but he SHOULD maintain good balance."  
  
"Safely, huh?" Jude smirked. "Hey, Ash? Buddy, are you still there? Yeah? Great. He says look down and let go."  
  
"GIVE ME THAT!!"  
  
Bill pulled Jude's watcher equipment off and put them on himself.  
  
"Alright, Ash, first off, I want you to ignore everything Jude just told you," Bill instructed. "I'm aware she's not completely concerned with your well being, and I'll be happy to have Ziggy go after you until Jude learns that a watcher doesn't lead their shifters into certain doom."  
  
"Please, Bill," Jude said as she rolled her eyes. "It's not CERTAIN doom."  
  
"Excuse me for a second, Ash." Bill took off the headset and visor to speak quietly and directly to Jude. "He's in an unusually small Spinarak's body, four stories from the top floor on the outside of the Sears Tower. If falling from that height ISN'T certain doom, I would certainly like to know what IS."  
  
"Falling from that height AND being pierced in the chest by a sharp object on the streets below?"  
  
He stared at her for a moment before raising an eyebrow and shaking his head. "Where do you GET these ideas from...?"  
  
She shrugged and replied, "The violence of the modern entertainment industry."  
  
He rolled his eyes and slipped the headset and visor back on.  
  
"Sorry about that, Ash," Bill said. "Alright, listen to me. That single, weakened cord*1* won't support both your charge's weight and the weight of the platform at the same time. Before it snaps, use String Shot. Hopefully, your host and the thread it produces are both strong enough to hold Harold alone and long enough for someone to help him inside. Okay?"  
  
{Got it!} Ash replied.  
  
"Good."  
  
Bill continued to monitor the situation until Ash came out successful. When this happened, Jude was given back her watcher equipment.  
  
"Now THAT'S how to be a good watcher," Bill told his younger sister.  
  
"Well, being a good watcher for that little twerp something I'd really like to do," Jude replied.  
  
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Well, 'that little twerp' saved my life twice, so if I were you, I would learn how to hold my tongue."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Ash shifted back.  
  
"So, how did I do?" Ash inquired.  
  
"Quite well," Bill complimented as he helped the young trainer up. "Not too bad for a second shift."  
  
Jude scoffed and continued upstairs through to the living quarters.  
  
"Why doesn't Jude like me?" Ash asked Bill.  
  
He smiled and looked aside, using one hand to thumb through a stack of papers on a table beside him. "Oh, she likes you. Acts of sadism are just her way of showing it. You see, she's a believer in the saying, 'You hurt the ones you love.'"  
  
"Huh? Love?"  
  
"Did I say that?" Bill's smile grew slightly broader, as if he was deliberately refraining from telling Ash something. "I didn't mean anything by it."  
  
Ash blinked. "Uh..."  
  
Suddenly, Jude's scream was heard from upstairs. Bill stopped for awhile before turning and bolting upstairs. When he arrived on the second floor with Ash, he saw a four men in black, Rocket Grunt-style uniforms (only missing the blood-red R), all tying up Jude.  
  
At this point, Jude swore so severely it would have made even the ex-Rockets blush if they thought about it.  
  
"If you hadn't caught me off guard..." Jude finally growled with actual, clean words.  
  
"Let her go and leave this place, or I promise you, you WILL regret coming here!" Bill sneered, angered at the sight of the four men overpowering and tying up his sister.  
  
"Actually, we will leave here, as soon as we get exactly what we want," one of the men replied.  
  
Hesitantly, Bill finally asked, "What is it that you want?"  
  
"Why, you, Dr. McKenzie," a female voice answered from behind him before spraying sleeping gas at both Ash and Bill.  
  
Before he blacked out, Bill could hear his sister cry out for him. He tried to stay awake to help her, but already, he felt drowsy. So drowsy that he dropped to his knees before falling over on the floor. He remained lying there, awake, for a few more moments before he finally groaned and closed his eyes.  
  
~~~  
  
Bill slowly came to. He wasn't aware of much at first... until he felt a sharp pinch in his arm. His eyes fully opened abruptly, and he turned to find Chester pull away from him, syringe in hand. Before Bill had time to react to Chester, more Antiwarp agents came from almost literally out of the shadows, grabbed him, and pulled him into one of the many cages that lined the room. One agent shut the cage door and locked it firmly afterwards.  
  
The crowd parted, allowing Dr. Crocus to make her way through. Her grin was almost like the Cheshire Cat's, and of course we all know how much anyone could trust that cat... or anyone in Wonderland for that matter.  
  
"Welcome to our lair, Dr. McKenzie," she greeted. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Crocus, lead scientist and current boss of Project Antiwarp." She chuckled. "Oh. I'm sorry. I'm not quite the boss just yet. I work for a VERY generous employer."  
  
"What did you do to me?" Bill growled. "What did you inject into me?"  
  
Crocus grinned again. "Apparently, my employer, Mr. Keios, isn't too fond of you. He wants you stripped of your little gift and disposed of afterwards."  
  
Bill didn't like the way she emphasized "disposed of", but he remained silent, wondering where this explanation was headed.  
  
"And so, to take care of half the job, my colleagues and I have developed a powerful little drug called AS7*2* which reduces the energy it takes for you to shift... as well as a virus that ensures that you don't try to regain that extra energy again," Crocus told him.  
  
Bill growled, finding no polite words to reply. "Bitch..."  
  
Crocus threw back her head and laughed before motioning to her lackeys to leave the room, leaving Bill and her alone.  
  
Bill could find no other solution to this problem except to see if he could shift before it was too late. He closed his eyes and concentrated, producing that silver light. However, he knew something was wrong, and he opened his eyes. One glance at the arm the drug was injected into told him what had happened.   
  
In order to shift, one's entire body must produce the energy to push the mind and soul out, illustrated by a colored glow matching one's aura. However, this arm was the only part of Bill that refused to glow a bright silver.  
  
Suddenly, a pain shot up to his left shoulder from the injection site. He clenched his teeth, closed his eyes, and groaned, grabbing his arm where the drug had been injected and slamming his back into one of the cage walls.  
  
Crocus chuckled sadistically. "What's the matter, McKenzie? Can't stand to lose your cute, little powers?"  
  
'Why don't you inject yourself with this drug?' Bill thought. 'Then maybe you'll know "what's wrong with me"...'  
  
"You can't get rid of my powers this easily," he informed her aloud.  
  
"Oh, why don't you just give up and admit that you can't stand a chance?" Crocus asked with a smile. "Keios will get his way, and I'll get mine. And you..." She stepped forward, close to the bars of the cage. "...You, my sly little friend, will be a mutilated corpse in a grave."  
  
"I won't give up. I won't let you win!"  
  
"Fine. Then die fighting. You'll only entertain us. The more you struggle, the more exciting the show becomes!"  
  
Bill managed to push off the side of the cage, turning toward the front and moving in, close to Crocus' face.  
  
"You have no idea how many allies are by my side," he sneered.  
  
"And you underestimate the power of the one I work for," Crocus replied.  
  
"So do you."*3*  
  
Crocus frowned. "I'm starting to see what Lokov meant when he called you cocky."  
  
Bill smirked, giving her a strong, determined look, as if the drug had no effect on his energy whatsoever.  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Hmph. As much as I'd love to watch you swallow your pride and suffer for hours on end until your final breath, I have work to do."  
  
She turned on her heel and walked away, passing a lackey on the way out the door.  
  
"Keep an eye on him," she muttered to her subordinate. "Though he may not look like it, the twerp's cunning."  
  
The lackey nodded and leaned up against a wall on the opposite side of the room.  
  
'Hmph. As if I'm actually going anywhere,' Bill thought with a sigh. 'Oh, god, I hate cages...'   
  
He leaned against the cage front, pressing his back against the bars as he held his arm again. It was numb, and this lack of feeling was spreading into his chest. He wondered for a moment if the drug were simply a poison...  
  
'What do I do now?'  
  
As if on cue, Ziggy appeared.  
  
"Ziggy," he said, extremely softly so as not to allow the guard to overhear. "Help me! Antiwarp injected a drug into me which--"  
  
"I know," Ziggy interrupted with a concerned glance. "Zero told me. She also told me that if you don't get out of here they're going to kill you."  
  
"What should I do?" he asked. "There's nothing in here that could get me out of this cage, and I can't shift into a Pokémon to get it to help..."  
  
"Apollo and Artemis are breaking in as we speak," she assured him. "And Ash is waking up. As soon as he fully awakens, Jude's going to tell him all about your situation."  
  
He bowed his head. "Thank you, Ziggy."  
  
She grinned and thought, 'Anytime, my dear creator.'  
  
~~~  
  
"Ash? Ash! Please, for the love of all things good and holy, please wake up!"  
  
Ash groaned and opened his eyes. He looked up to see Jude, still tied up but squirming much closer to him. She looked at him with a grave look.  
  
"Ash, please! You've gotta shift!" she pleaded.  
  
Ash blinked. "Why? Where's Bill?"  
  
"They took him!"  
  
"Who took him?"  
  
Jude turned away so Ash wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. "Antiwarp."  
  
Ash cocked his head. "Who?"  
  
"Antiwarp," Jude repeated, with her head still turned away from Ash. "Bill told me about them. They used to be with Team Rocket, but now they're employed by something even worse." She shut her eyes tightly. "I don't... really know what they want with him, but he's told me about his past encounters with them, and they usually tried to do something bad to him..." Tears ran down her cheeks, showing just how useless she felt. "I know this time, he's in trouble. I don't know exactly what they're going to do to him this time, but I know it."  
  
Ash couldn't say anything. Neither could Jude for a while.  
  
"Ash..." She slowly turned her head back to him. "I don't want to lose my brother."  
  
"You won't," Ash assured her. "But when I try to shift, how can I get closer to him?"  
  
"Zero will take you there. She told me."  
  
"Told you?"  
  
"I know it sounds REALLY crazy, but Zero sends me messages through my COM device. A few minutes ago, she sent me a mission statement, and according to her, you've got to meet up with another shifter to save Bill."  
  
"Another shifter?"  
  
"I've never known about one outside of Antiwarp, but apparently, there's Apollo."  
  
"Who?"  
  
Jude looked at him. "Ash, we're wasting time. Please, go and help save my brother!"  
  
Ash nodded and shifted out.  
  
~~~  
  
{Ash Ketchum?}  
  
Ash opened his eyes. As soon as he did, he found himself face-to-face with a Hitmonchan. He sat up abruptly, though this was hard to do, as apparently, he was inside the body of an Electrode.*4*  
  
{Who are you?} Ash asked.  
  
{My name is Apollo,} the Hitmonchan replied before motioning to a white Sneasel beside him. {This is my partner, Artemis. We have been asked by Lady Aigori to watch over both you and the Prime.}  
  
{Lady Aigori? The Prime?} Ash blinked. {Who?}  
  
"Let me handle this, Apollo," Artemis said.  
  
Ash's eyes widened. {Woah! A talking Sneasel!}  
  
Artemis ignored him. "Lady Aigori is an all-knowing star pixie you know as Zero. The Prime, on the other hand, is a label that refers to the first shifter who hadn't received his powers naturally, the one you call Bill."  
  
Ash blinked. {Okay...}  
  
{Come on, we've got to keep moving,} Apollo said. {We're deep inside the laboratory used for Antiwarp. If we stay in one place for a moment too long, we'll be stuck in here just the same way Bill is.}  
  
{Right,} Ash replied as he followed Apollo and Artemis down a corridor.  
  
~~~  
  
Bill sat inside the cage, keeping as still and as calm as possible. The dose of AS7 hadn't gone completely through his system, and he was trying to keep it from doing so by slowing down his blood flow.*5* Still, he could feel the drug moving in his bloodvessels, slowly, like a Magcargo slithering down a mountainside. And yet, he could still feel his energy slowly being sucked out of each of the cells the drug HAD come in contact with.  
  
He silently wondered where Ash, Artemis, and Apollo were and whether or not they'll reach him in time.  
  
The guard chuckled. "Thinking up a plan to escape? Whatever you're thinking, it won't work!"  
  
Bill didn't reply.  
  
Suddenly, another goon burst into the room with frantic eyes.  
  
"Didja hear? Someone broke in!" the lackey yelled.  
  
The guard blinked. "Who?"  
  
"We don't know! The security camera's all busted!"  
  
"Why did you bother telling me that?"  
  
The lackey hit the guard in the head with a slap. "Think, Zach! Even if they're only looking for information, if they find Poindexter over there, no doubt they'll take him with them!"  
  
The guard glared at the lackey in response. "Why do you think Crocus wanted me to watch over him, genius?"  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Oh." The goon blushed and ran back out the door, leaving the guard to shake his head.  
  
For the first time in a half an hour, Bill moved. A grin grew across his lips.  
  
~~~  
  
{That's the only thing standing in our way,} Ash stated, looking down the dark staircase.  
  
Within an hour, the trio knocked out several lackeys, trying to reach the location Zero told them about. All that they had to do now was to decend into unknown darkness to the basement, where the test Pokémon used to be held and supposedly where Bill was now being held.  
  
"After you, oh brave Electrode," Artemis said with a sly grin as motioned toward the threshold with a clawed paw.  
  
Ash's eyes widened. {What!? Why me!?}  
  
An Antiwarp agent's voice echoed from somewhere up the hall. "I hear something over this way!"  
  
"You'd better get down there, buddy!" Artemis said. "And use Explosion when you land!"  
  
Ash blinked {What!?}  
  
At this, Artemis kicked Ash down the steps, waving as the ball Pokémon bounced down a few steps, then continued, rolling until he hit the bottom. He continued rolling until he reached a door, at which point, he broke the barrier down, startling the guard behind it.  
  
"What the...!?"  
  
"Ash! Use Explosion!" Artemis called from somewhere higher up the stairs.  
  
{Can't I use some other move?} Ash inquired, knowing full well that after executing Explosion, he no doubt wouldn't be able to fight.  
  
"Just do it!" Artemis replied with a growl. "If you don't, I'm going to come down there and MAKE you do it!"  
  
Ash groaned, knowing this would indeed be VERY painful. And still, he obeyed, growing a bright white before finally exploding in a cloud of smoke.  
  
A few moments later, Artemis and Apollo ran down the stairs. Apollo would serve as further distraction, keeping the agents at bay as Artemis once more got Bill out of a cage.*6*  
  
"Bill?" Artemis whispered, squinting through the smoke.  
  
"Over here," he replied with a sharp whisper.  
  
Artemis turned and walked to his right until he was able to feel Bill's arm, stretched partially through the cage bars.  
  
"There you are! I'll have you out in a moment," Artemis reassured as he jumped up and clung to the padlock which kept the cage door in place. "Are you alright? Zero told us about what happened to you."  
  
"For the moment, I'm fine," Bill replied. "However, I don't know how much longer it will be before I feel the full effects of this drug."  
  
"Then we'd better hurry and get you back to the lighthouse," Artemis said as he carefully picked the lock with his claws.  
  
Apollo threw another Ice Punch, freezing another set of agents who attempted to stop the commotion as another group came in.  
  
{Artemis! Hurry!} Apollo managed to call. {I can't hold them back forever!}  
  
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Artemis replied harshly.  
  
"Artemis?" Bill finally addressed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Use Slash."  
  
Artemis glanced at Bill. "Hey, buddy! I don't tell you how to do YOUR job!"  
  
Despite this, Artemis took his advice and brought his claws across the padlock. Within seconds, the lock was nothing but pieces of metal on the floor. Bill got up, pushed the cage door open, and grabbed Ash, who had been knocked unconscious by his own attack.  
  
"Apollo! Clear the way!" Bill commanded.  
  
{No problem!}  
  
Apollo ran forward, using Thunder Punch on every agent that stood between him and the exit. Following him was Bill, still carrying Ash, as well as Artemis bringing up the rear.  
  
As the three ran as fast as they possibly could out of the lab, a figure stood down a hallway, not even reacting to the escape.  
  
Crocus grinned in the shadows. "You can try to run, McKenzie, but in the matter of minutes, you'll be mine again..."  
  
~~~  
  
{Lady Aigori had arranged for someone to take us by water back to your lighthouse,} Apollo said. {All we have to do is make it to the beach!}  
  
Apparently, the laboratory sat on Cinnabar Island, a bit inland and away from the beach. However, it still was easy to get from point A to point B, especially since, strangely enough, the Antiwarp agents were far behind them.  
  
Up until now, the dose of AS7 had indeed taken effect on Bill, but it was such a small effect that he was able to ignore it. However, as soon as his feet touched the sands of the shore, the drug fully kicked in. He and the others had just a strip of sand separating them from the Lapras which would take them back north, but here, unluckily enough, his vision began to blur, and he felt as if he could no longer stand up. With a groan, he dropped to his knees, allowed Ash to roll away a bit, bent down, and began to breathe heavily. Apollo and Artemis stopped abruptly to watch him.  
  
"What's wrong?" Artemis inquired.  
  
It took awhile for Bill to answer, and when he did, it was a reply done with a weak voice. "I feel so tired..."  
  
Artemis and Apollo looked at each other. They knew what this meant.  
  
At this time, Antiwarp agents began to move in and fast.  
  
"Apollo, get the Prime and Ash on Lapras," Artemis instructed. "You're the stronger of the both of us! You can carry them much easier than I can! And hurry! I'll stay behind and try to give you and Lapras as much time as I can!"  
  
Apollo nodded. {Good luck, Artemis.}  
  
The world began to fade out on Bill as Apollo lifted him and Ash and ran toward the Lapras. Behind them, Artemis stood in a defensive position until the Antiwarp goons came close enough.  
  
"'Welcome to my parlour,' said the spider to the fly," Artemis sneered as he jumped high up into the air. "Every one of you look a bit hot. Let's see if I can cool you down! ICY WIND!"  
  
Though Icy Wind is a rather weak ice move compared to others, such as Blizzard and Ice Beam, the agents didn't stand a chance.  
  
~~~  
  
Bill slowly woke up and groaned. His body ached, so he didn't dare move, save for opening his eyes. Almost immediately after, he felt someone place a cold, wet cloth on his head. He looked up to see Jude sitting on the edge of his bed.  
  
"Hey, Bill," she said softly. "Glad to see you awake."  
  
He smiled at her.  
  
"A Lapras brought you and Ash back here," Jude explained. "I wound up having to drag you into bed. You know, you're not the lightest person on this planet!"  
  
He chuckled lightly for a bit. "I know."  
  
She gulped and looked away. "You know, you scared the living shit out of me today."  
  
"Did I?"  
  
"Yeah..." She blinked. "I thought they were going to kill you. I... I didn't want to see you die."  
  
"Oh my," Bill responded with another light laugh. "Jude McKenzie, caring deeply about someone other than... Well, actually caring deeply about something? Hold on, let me check to see if four horsemen are riding across a fiery sky."*7*  
  
"Shut up, Bill!" Jude snapped, glaring at him. "I'm trying to be serious, and all you can do is criticize me!?"  
  
He gave her a gentle glance. "I'm sorry, Jude. Yes, that WAS a bit uncalled for..."  
  
"Hmph!" Jude looked away again. "I guess I can forgive you. After all, it's not like you get how much I care about you. YOU don't care about me that way. All you care about is Pokémon and--"  
  
"Hey! Wait a minute!"  
  
Jude looked at her brother as he took off the cloth and sat completely up. He gave her a serious glance.  
  
"I DO care about you, Jude!" he told her. "Jude, I'm not ALL about Pokémon. In fact, I would willingly give up even saying the word 'Pokémon' just for you -- and Mother as well. Don't you for a SECOND think I see you as anything less than anything else in my life!"  
  
Jude blinked at him. "You mean that?"  
  
He nodded. "Of course! Jude... I felt that way ever since I shifted into your Cyndaquil and got to know you a bit better. In fact, the only reason I was reluctant to allow you to join Warp is because I was afraid that one wrong move might destroy any chance I'd ever have to know you like I, as your brother, should. Your fear of losing me today was the same fear I had of losing you then."  
  
Jude simply stared at him. She didn't know what to say.  
  
"By the way, Jude," Bill finally said as he looked down at the quilt that covered him. "Now that I'm remembering that week, I want to tell you something."  
  
"What?" she asked as she cocked her head.  
  
"Don't think you're untalented."*8*  
  
She paused, remembered what he was talking about, and smiled.  
  
"Thanks, Bill."  
  
Not far away, the door was open just a crack, with Ash, Ziggy, and Pikachu peeking in.  
  
"Man, they're weird!" Ash said softly as he pulled away from the door. "One minute, they're yelling at each other, and the next, it's practically a scene from the Brady Bunch!"  
  
"If you ever got a little brother or sister, you'd be doing the same thing," Ziggy replied, also pulling away.  
  
"Pika!" Pikachu added.  
  
"Wait, how would YOU know?" Ash inquired. "YOU don't have a little brother or sister!"  
  
Ziggy sighed. "Just shut up and take my word for it."  
  
~~~  
  
Dr. Crocus paced back and forth in her office, emitting a low growl before stopping and pounding on her desk.  
  
'Useless buffoons!' she thought, remembering how they had allowed Bill to escape. 'I have an army of agents, all guarding AND tracking down a single man and three Pokémon in broad daylight, on our own territory, no less, and yet, twenty of them had been frozen in the basement, thirty were found paralyzed, and not to mention the forty useless twits found shivering on the beach! Where on EARTH am I to get DECENT help!?'  
  
"I am just as disappointed over your failure as you are..."  
  
Crocus gasped and turned, locating a shadow with glowing, red eyes before bowing to it.  
  
"Master Keios!" Crocus addressed as she lifted her head a bit. "I wasn't expecting you! I apologize for--"  
  
"For your embarrassing loss?" Keios finished.  
  
"Sir, I can explain! Please let me explain!" Crocus pleaded.  
  
Keios ignored this and continued. "I am gradually getting impatient with you and your organization, Crocus. You have promised me that you will get rid of one obstacle standing between my dream and myself."  
  
Keios reached over and took Crocus by the chin, tilting her head back so that she stared into his eyes. She said nothing but instead gave a gasp at the sudden coldness of his skin.  
  
"I want the world to be shrouded in darkness, and I can tell you do as well," Keios told her. "However, there is a light constantly shining that keeps me from doing so. The same light which is destroying the virus you had attempted to infect the Prime with. The same light which will be locked away in the Prime's soul until one faithful hour. Extinguish this light before that hour comes, Crocus. Yes, I will give you as many more chances as my patience will allow, but know that this number is a low one. You had better do what I ask of you before this number reaches zero. Have I made myself clear?"  
  
Keios released Crocus, allowing her to reply, "Yes, Master Keios."  
  
"Very well then." Keios turned away. "Do not disappoint me like you had done so today."  
  
With that, he vanished into the darkness of the office. Crocus straightened up as her expression twisted into one of anger. Her fists clenched as she once more growled.  
  
"Yes, Master," she mumbled, emphasizing the latter word. "I'll destroy McKenzie for you. However, once the world is covered in the darkness you've created, it will be MY turn to be the master..."  
  
***  
  
End episode 16*9*  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: Ash's charge here is a window cleaner whose platform is about to fall, taking the poor guy with it, leaving a family fatherless.  
  
*2*: ...I'm thinking I should lay off the Jekyll and Hyde stuff for awhile... ^_^; (Though the AS initials -- which stand for "Anti Shifting" -- came from my own mind, I got the seven part from HJ7, the formula that split Dr. Jekyll's soul in two. It's obscure details like that which make you wonder if I truly believe there's life away from my computer, no? Well, actually, no. I don't think there's life beyond my computer. Happy? ¬_¬)  
  
*3*: Bill's referring to Zero. Though he technically doesn't work for her, he receives every mission from her, making her his superior when it comes to shifting.  
  
*4*: Technically, Electrodes can't sit because they have nothing to sit on. (Or nothing that can make the difference between sitting and standing clear.) =p  
  
*5*: By not moving and not experiencing extreme emotion, your heart maintains a steady pace (slow, according to some people). Try it sometime. ^_^  
  
*6*: I mean once more as in it happened before. I'd like to take the time to remind you about the scene where he was trapped in Sisterly Love. ^_^  
  
*7*: For those of you who aren't familiar with the Christian Bible, apparently, this is something that would happen during the Armageddon. And yet, I actually read Revelations (which is a big surprise, if anyone knows my take on theology), and I didn't notice a single mention of the four horsemen. Unless, of course, they come earlier... =/  
  
*8*: If anyone could remember the part he's referring to (Yes, it too is in Sisterly Love.), then I must say I'm quite impressed. ^_^  
  
*9*: Well, nice and long, with not much of a shift as there is just plain story. Ah. Oh well. Sailormoon had a ton of plots like this, so why can't I? ^_^;;; And by the way, yes, I've realized that this as well was an incredibly serious plot, straying away from the only semi-serious plotlines I've intended on doing. If you have any comments or suggestions of improvements, please tell me specifically what you want to see changed, and I'll concider your thoughts. ^_^ 


	8. On Your Own

Foreword: The reason why this came so late is because originally, I had another episode prepared for the seventeenth slot. Unfortunately, I thought it was WAY too soon and decided to finish it but go on to prepare another episode seventeen. The release of the OTHER prepared episode, however, will be postponed until somewhere in season three.  
  
Okay, so let's back up and look at why this episode is so late again. I have five REALLY good excuses:  
  
1. It usually takes me a week (average) to finish one episode, so finishing two would take two weeks.  
2. My teachers are sadistic. 'Nuff said.  
3. I'm in the process of moving my blog off of Geocities (who had been giving me problems with poor This Side Up for awhile) to the most reliable server I know: Lothlorien(dot)nu, owned by a friend o' mine, Allie. (Bow down to Allie! NOW!!)  
4. Writer's block is bad for you.  
5. I had short addictions to the SNES games, Harvest Moon and Magic Knights Rayearth. So sue me. -_-  
  
Okay, now, why did I feel it was necessary to make two episode seventeens in the first place? Because the original episode seventeen revealed things such as what Bill's destiny really is, why this ties in with Apollo and Ash, and Keios and Zero's history, all of which would have come WAY too soon. It would have explained the next few episodes, but it's not worth it. You'll just have to wait for season three, where the story changes flavor and things start to make sense. ^_-  
  
In the meantime, I present to you the NEW episode seventeen! ^_^  
  
***  
Episode 17--  
On Your Own  
  
Bill rested peacefully, allowing the remaining AS7 to be eliminated inside his body without any sign of this occuring. The night around him was just as tranquil and quiet as he was in his sleep as the Cheshire's Smile*1* glowed brightly among delecate pixies in the dark blue-black heavens of summer.  
  
Save for the soft chirp of a cricket and the occasional hoot of a Hoothoot or a Noctowl, not a sound shattered the night, even from any other room in the building. Jude remained in her bed, dreaming about cute, male punk rockers singing about her. Ash and Pikachu slept side by side in their room, dreaming about food and winning Pokémon battles, respectively. Even Ziggy was in sleep mode, dreaming about... Well, actually, when she's in sleep mode, Ziggy doesn't dream.  
  
In any case, we return to the master bedroom where the Prime himself dreamt about... strange things. Such as... Zero?  
  
He realized he was no longer dreaming, but instead staring into a deep void that one would experience between dreams.*2* But in this void, he heard her voice drift through the darkness. He almost felt her spirit caressing the back of his neck with her long, thin hand as she whispered in his ear with that voice that almost sounded like the way one would if they spoke from within a giant, hollowed glass onion.*3*  
  
"Bill, come with me. Shift and join me," she whispered.  
  
"Zero... I don't know if I can," he replied, remaining still. "The AS7--"  
  
"--Had been destroyed inside of you by your own light," she finished. "There is nothing to worry about. The glitch's effects on you are permanent. Nothing can take your powers away from you. The AS7 only proves it. Now, come..."  
  
She was gone. He could feel it. He remained still for a moment before finally pushing out of his body.  
  
~~~  
  
He came to and realized he had successfully shifted into some Pokémon at the edge of Zero's lake. He managed to get up and gaze at his reflection for a moment. Ninetails.  
  
The image ripped for a moment before he saw a piece of white material. His eyes drifted up, into those of Zero. She knelt down so both pairs of deep eyes were level before someone spoke.  
  
{Aren't you going to call for Ziggy, Ash, or any of the others?} Bill inquired.  
  
She smiled and shook her head. "No. This concerns you and you only, though you may think it involves everyone because everyone is tied so close to you." She frowned slightly. "Apollo thought the same way when I told him what I am about to tell you."  
  
{What is it, Zero?}  
  
"Now is the time I send you on a quest," she told him softly. "During the following time, you will gain complete control over your powers. After going on this quest, you will be able to not only control when you shift but also, if I reveal a place and a Pokémon, where you shift to and into what. You will be among the elite shifters. A shifter master."  
  
{I see,} Bill responded. {But... Why are you telling me this now?}  
  
"The time is fast approaching when you will fufill the most challenging part of your destiny. However, to be able to do this, you will need to control your shifting. I couldn't tell you earlier because it wasn't needed. However, if I told you too late, then you will have no chance against the darkness."  
  
{Where do I have to go?}  
  
"You will journey west of here, to the mountain on the Johto-Kanto border, Mt. Silver. In Mt. Silver, deep in the heart of the cave there, Silver Cave, there is a follower of mine, Red, and it will be he who tells you what you need to know. However, getting there will be far from easy, which is why I have chosen this skilled Ninetails to be your host. Its speed will keep you from capture, and its own supernatural powers within its nine tails will keep you alive and well. My Pokémon followers will protect you if you run into any other trouble you cannot handle."  
  
{Zero, out of curiousity, could you possibly tell me what about my destiny requires this?}  
  
"You will learn about that when the time comes. Now go."  
  
Zero turned around and walked into the lake, eventually vanishing into the darkness. Bill watched her until she did this, then paused. Finally, he looked up to find Polaris and used it to tell him where west was before beginning to walk in that direction.  
  
~~~  
  
Jude knew when she woke up that something wasn't quite right. It was much too quiet.   
  
Sophie*4* had been dismissed not long after Jude, who was a VERY good cook, came to live at the lighthouse. Still, Bill had the habit of attempting to cook breakfast before Jude got there first (mostly because he was convinced that he could cook decently if he just followed the recipe carefully... regardless of the fact that his cooking still wound up like a Grimer on a plate even WITH the recipes). So, even during his recovery, Jude would hear an explosion or a loud (but short, of course) string of curses coming from the kitchen, no doubt caused by the kitchen klutz she knew as her brother.   
  
Strangely, however, this morning, she heard nothing.  
  
She got out of bed and slowly made her way to the kitchen before peeking inside. Sure enough, Bill wasn't there. Jude blinked for a moment, then made her way over to Bill's bedroom.  
  
"Bill?" she addressed as she pushed the door open. "It's seven in the morning. Aren't you usually up by--"  
  
She stopped short. He wasn't here either. Or at least, he didn't appear to be.*5*  
  
Yet, there was a depression on his bed, as if there was something on it.  
  
Quickly, Jude ran into her room and grabbed her watcher equipment before darting back into the master bedroom. She had a hunch, and this was one way to find out if she had been right. She slipped on the visor and looked hard at the bed, only to discover Bill stretched out on it, as if he were still asleep.  
  
"He shifted," Jude muttered. "Dammit! And I didn't know about it! Hmm... I wonder where he went, though. Better check Ziggy..."  
  
As if on cue, Ziggy appeared with a yawn.  
  
"No need to check me," Ziggy told Jude dully. "I wanted to check you."  
  
"Huh?" Jude cocked her head. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"I don't know where Bill went."  
  
"Wha...?" Jude blinked. "But... But you're his watcher! You should know!"  
  
"I know," Ziggy replied with a worried tone. "But Bill shifted, and Zero won't tell me why or where to. Without a hint from Zero, I could be looking for your brother 'til he comes back himself."  
  
"Don't you have a tracking device on him or something?"  
  
"Sure, I could track him, under normal circumstances, but right now, Zero's even taken the time to... cover him up so I can't pick up on him."  
  
"Why would she do that?"  
  
Ziggy gave her a worried glance. "I don't know, but trust me, I'm just as worried about Bill as you are."  
  
"So... What should we do?" Jude asked.  
  
Just then, her COM device beeped. She looked at it and sighed with frustration.  
  
"Hold the thought. The rookie has to shift," Jude said bitterly as she walked to Ash's room.  
  
Jude knocked on the door and waited. Not long after, Ash opened it and yawned.  
  
"Morning, Jude," he mumbled.  
  
"Cut the chat; you've got to shift," Jude told him bluntly.  
  
"Can't it wait until I've had some breakfast?" Ash groaned.  
  
Jude held up a fist. It was just too early for her to deal with something like this.  
  
"Shift now, or I'll serve a knuckle sandwich with a side eggs, sunny-side-up and spiced with blood," she threatened.  
  
"I hate sunny-side-up eggs."  
  
"Go, you moron!"  
  
Ash rolled his eyes. "Geez! I'm going! I'm going!"  
  
He closed his eyes and shifted out.  
  
"One of these days, I'm gonna kill him," Jude growled.  
  
"Hmm... You know, Bill once told me about an old saying that said, 'You hurt the ones you love,'" Ziggy commented. "Now I know why. You want to hurt Ash so badly, you must really like him!"  
  
Jude screamed, "WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO HOOK ME UP WITH THAT STUPID, BABYISH TWERP!?"  
  
With a final growl, she pressed a few buttons on her COM device to locate and contact Ash.  
  
~~~  
  
'I'm still hungry,' Ash thought as he woke up inside his host.  
  
He found himself in the middle of a forest, next to a child no doubt only about eight years old, fast asleep with a backpack under his auburn-haired head.  
  
{I wonder if he's got anything to eat,} Ash muttered to himself.  
  
"Dear god! Don't you think about anything BESIDES food!?" Jude snapped as she appeared behind him.  
  
{Yeah! Winning Pokémon battles!} Ash replied.  
  
"Ugh! Thank god there's only one of you among the people I'm forced to hang out with," Jude muttered before glancing at her COM device. "Okay, so, you're in the body of a Teddiursa belonging to Henry, the little boy who's sleeping over there. He ran away from home because of a little argument with his parents, and it's up to you to figure out a way to persuade him to go back home. It seems easy enough, but there's a catch."  
  
{What?}  
  
"He's lost too."  
  
{GAH! Can't you tell me which way to go?}  
  
"If I knew, you'd just get lost again," Jude replied. "Besides, I'm sadistic."  
  
{I'm starting to wish I had Ziggy.}  
  
"Good. Then start your mission and see if I care."  
  
{What?}  
  
"He's waking up, so I'll see you later."  
  
{Hey! WAIT!}  
  
Unfortunately, Jude vanished. Ash, however, remained behind to growl in frustration.  
  
~~~  
  
Jude took off her watcher equipment and put them on her bed. Ziggy, in the meantime, remained there, watching her.  
  
"Geez, do you have to be so hard on him?" Ziggy inquired.  
  
"Yeah," Jude replied. "It's for his own good."  
  
"Really? You know what Ash's 'good' is?" Ziggy muttered with a smirk.  
  
Jude ignored the innuendo. "I just want to be a good watcher, and if he can't keep up with me as a shifter, then hard luck."  
  
"You know, I'm thinking it's more than that."  
  
"What do you think it means, Ziggy?" Jude inquired with a warning glare and her teeth clenched.  
  
"You know, Bill and I joke around, saying that you two would make a good couple, but maybe you're just venting your own frustrations on Ash," Ziggy told Jude thoughtfully. "Do you want to talk to Ziggy about it?"  
  
Jude's look softened. "No, not right now."  
  
"Are you sure? It would make you feel better. Besides, Ziggy's a good listener!"  
  
"Nah. You wouldn't want to hear it."  
  
Ziggy shrugged. "Okay, but just remember, you can always talk to me about girl things. I might have been programmed by and spent most of my time with a guy, but I'm great with girl talks."  
  
"Thanks, Ziggy."  
  
Jude began walking out of her room, headed for the kitchen. Before she did, however, she turned around to see Ziggy still there.  
  
"By the way, Ziggy..." Jude said. "I finally see how Bill can call you the perfect companion."  
  
Jude disappeared through the doorway, leaving Ziggy to stay behind to grin a bit.  
  
"Aww... He DOES care..."  
  
~~~  
  
Ash's stomach wasn't the only one that growled. So did Henry's. And apparently, they were fresh out of food... and money to go with it.  
  
"Oh..." Henry groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have run away from home... But I won't go back! There's no WAY I'm going back there!"  
  
{Wish I knew why you didn't want to go home so much,} Ash muttered, half to himself. {I'd go home too if I had nothing out here, not even Pikachu.}  
  
"But my parents are so strict!" Henry exclaimed, as if answering Ash's question. "They won't let me go out on a Pokémon journey! 'Not until you're older,' they say! Well, there's a lot of people who get their trainer's license when they're my age! What about me!?"  
  
Henry's look softened.  
  
"But still... I miss them..."  
  
He turned back to Ash.  
  
"Teddiursa, I want to go home!"  
  
Ash jumped up and grinned broadly. {GREAT! That's great to hear, Henry! Then let's go!}  
  
"I guess you're happy that you get to go home too," Henry said.  
  
{Of COURSE I am! Can't you tell!?}  
  
Henry sighed. "But I can't go back."  
  
{Huh?} Ash stopped and cocked his teddy bear head. {Why?}  
  
Henry burst out crying. "I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH WAY IS HOME!!"  
  
At this point, Ash fell over.  
  
{Oh yeah!} Ash said somewhat painfully. {I forgot he's lost too!}  
  
~~~  
  
"Hey, Ziggy!"  
  
Ziggy appeared beside Jude again as Jude sat at the kitchen table (half ignoring her breakfast), pressing buttons on her COM device.  
  
"What's up, Jude?" Ziggy blinked.  
  
"Are you getting information from Zero that can help Ash out?" Jude asked. "You know, such as where Henry's parents live."  
  
"Sorry, Jude, but Zero says that Ash is going to have to get a hang of this shifting business REALLY soon," Ziggy replied. "So she won't tell even me about any sort of information. I guess she wants us to get used to figuring things out on our own and with the help of each other."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe she knows something big's going to happen, but she won't say what."*6*  
  
"Hmm..." Jude thought for a moment. "Hey, did you find out where Bill is?"  
  
"Unfortunately, that's another piece of information Zero won't give me yet," Ziggy told Jude with a sad sigh. "She says that Bill has to work through his latest mission on his own."  
  
"But... You're his watcher!"  
  
"Yeah. I know that. But apparently, this doesn't matter."  
  
Jude growled with frustration.  
  
"Yeah, I know how you feel," Ziggy commented as she cocked her head.  
  
~~~  
  
Ash and Henry had been wandering around the forest for literally hours, and the boy STILL can't find a single thing he remembered on the way in. No unusual trees, no ledges, nothing. Both were totally clueless to where they were.  
  
"Teddiursa, do you think you can remember where we came in?" Henry finally asked.  
  
{WAH!} Ash jumped, then looked frantically around. {Uh... Can I remember the way in...? Uh...}  
  
"No?"  
  
Ash rubbed the back of his head with a paw. {Sorry.}  
  
Henry groaned, then slumped down to sit with his back against a tree. He drew his knees up to his chin and began to cry.  
  
"I should never have run away from home..."  
  
Ash groaned and sat down.  
  
{How am I supposed to get Henry home when I don't know where his home is to begin with...?}  
  
{Psst!}  
  
Ash looked up into the branches of a tree to see Artemis in it, on his side along a branch with his head propped up by on of his paws.  
  
{Artemis?} Ash blinked.  
  
{Apollo and I used a little persuasion to get Zero to tell us where Henry has to go,} Artemis explained in Pokémon tongue. {She finally told us that there's a road west of here--} Artemis pointed towards Ash with a clawed paw. {--which will take you to Henry's hometown. When you reach the road, turn north and keep going until you reach the first town outside of the forest. That's where you have to go.}  
  
{It's good to find USEFUL help,} Ash commented, thinking of Jude.  
  
{Hmm. I'll take that as a compliment.} Artemis grinned. {Now get going before your charge makes a watering hole.}  
  
{Got it! Thanks again!}  
  
Ash ran west, pausing only to hear Henry stop crying.  
  
"Hey! Teddiursa! Where're you going!? Wait for me!"  
  
Henry got up and ran after the Teddiursa, who had continued to run.  
  
Artemis was left in the tree to watch the shifter and the charge run off. The white sneasel narrowed his eyes in thought.  
  
"I know I should leave this to Jude, but maybe I can tell her all that I know and still keep an eye on Ash..."  
  
Artemis sat up and slid off the branch, vanishing halfway to the ground.  
  
~~~  
  
Only a few hours later (I say hours because, well, let's face it -- Ash just isn't the type of person you'd want to guide you through the forest, even if you love the guy to death.), the Teddiursa burst through a row of brush and literally stumbled upon a wide, dirt path.  
  
"Great job, Teddiursa!" Henry complimented as he too walked through the brush and onto the path. "You found the road!"  
  
{Alright!} Ash reacted cheerfully as he stood back up and froze. {Did Artemis say go north or south...?}  
  
Artemis, who remained hidden in a tree nearby, slapped his forehead with a clawed paw.  
  
"I remember now!" Henry exclaimed before jumping up and down. "We were going south before I saw a Yanma and before we went off to try to catch it!" At this point, Henry turned north. "I think this is the way home!"  
  
{At least one of us does,} Ash said with an embarrassed tone.  
  
Henry began running back home with his Teddiursa chasing after him.  
  
{Hey! Wait for me!} Ash cried as he ran after his charge.  
  
In the tree, Artemis sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "No wonder Jude gets fed up with him so often..."  
  
~~~  
  
Jude watched through the COM device. So far, so good. Ash wasn't messing up his assignment the way Jude had feared.  
  
All of a sudden, she heard a noise coming from somewhere in the main hall. Grabbing one of her PokéBalls, she slowly crept out of the living quarters and spied on those who had just broken in.  
  
Bonnie stood behind a Forretress, watching it break down the door to the cellar.  
  
"Hurry up, you twit, before McKenzie's got enough time to do something!" she ordered.  
  
The Forretress growled, backed up, and rammed again into the door.  
  
"Can I help you?" Jude asked.  
  
Bonnie gasped and looked over her shoulder.  
  
"Well, look at the little sweetie, thinkin' she's a match for us," Bonnie taunted. "Sugar, why don't you leave us alone and go play with your li'l dolls?"  
  
Jude narrowed her eyes. "I don't DO dolls."  
  
"Hmph! What a rude little girl!" Bonnie sneered. "Clyde, why don't you use your host to teach her some manners?"  
  
Forretress growled and turned away from the door with a menacing glance.  
  
"Ooh, so you want a Pokémon battle, huh?" Jude smirked. "Sounds like fun! Go! Flareon!"  
  
Jude threw out her PokéBall, allowing one of her two favorite Pokémon (the first being Cyndaquil) to burst forth from the sphere and confront its new opponent.  
  
"Clyde! Spikes!" Bonnie ordered.  
  
Forretress glared at her and growled.  
  
"Well, if you're gonna feel that way about me giving you orders, then go ahead and order yourself around, sugar!" Bonnie snapped angrily. "I'll stand right behind you when you screw up!"  
  
Clyde ignored her and attempted to Tackle Flareon, who, in the process of the argument, used Sand Attack. The Forretress, of course, missed.  
  
"Alright, Flareon!" Jude smiled. "Use Flamethrower!"  
  
Flareon breathed in and shot a jet of fire at Clyde upon exhaling. The bug/steel type burst into flames, after which he ran around, giving sharp cries before finally using Self Destruct close to Flareon. The fire type was knocked off its paws and into Jude's arms as the pinecone Pokémon flew literally through the roof and into the sky.  
  
Bonnie remained behind.  
  
"I've got more Pokémon," Jude threatened. "Some of which are stronger than my Flareon. Now, get out of here before you end up just like your partner."  
  
"Not until I get what I want, sugar," Bonnie replied. "And I ALWAYS get what I want."  
  
"Hmph. Brat."  
  
"You may think that way, but it's better to be rich and spoiled than poor and without anything!"  
  
"Tch. Then what do you want?"  
  
Bonnie smirked. "I want Bill to come with me, darlin'."  
  
Jude narrowed her eyes. "You're too late."  
  
Bonnie blinked. "What? What are you talkin' about!?"  
  
"He's not here," Jude replied as she stuck out her tongue.  
  
Bonnie burst out laughing. "You honestly think I'd fall for that!? Sugar, it takes more than THAT to trick a beautiful goddess like me!"  
  
Jude glared at her as Bonnie picked a PokéBall off her belt.  
  
"Now, I'm gonna make you talk, little girl!" Bonnie announced.  
  
"Starmie! Ice Beam!"  
  
Bonnie was hit squarely in the back by a single beam of cold light. She immediately froze up in a block of pure ice.  
  
"Starmie! Get behind the Antiwarp agent and blast her out of her with Bubble Beam!"  
  
The Starmie obeyed its master, sliding through the doorway and around Bonnie so that the southern girl remained between it and the door. From Starmie's red core, a solid stream of bubbles shot out, pushing the block of ice across the floor and out the doorway.  
  
Jude suddenly found a figure in a dark cloak standing beside her, spraying Hyper Potion on her Flareon.  
  
"Thanks," Jude muttered. "But who are you?"  
  
"I am Apollo," the figure replied. "You hadn't met my human form before, but I'm sure you know me through your brother. I'm one of those who kept him out of trouble."  
  
"Oh. I guess I should thank you for that too," Jude thought aloud as she set down her Flareon, who was already squirming in her arms. "So, why did you come here?"  
  
"Zero wanted me to," Apollo replied simply. "I'm not sure why, but I have a feeling we all will find out soon enough."  
  
"Do you know where Bill is right now?" Jude asked.  
  
Apollo turned to look away from Jude. "No. She said he needs to go about this on his own."  
  
On his own...  
  
Jude's eyes widened upon realizing something.  
  
"Oh god! I left Ash all alone on his mission!" she screamed as she bolted back to her room.  
  
Apollo sighed. "She and the young one have much to learn..."  
  
~~~  
  
"The young one" looked over the quaint little town which lay in the valley before him. Henry looked nervous.  
  
"Teddiursa... I don't want to go home now," Henry said as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.  
  
{What...?} Ash blinked incredulously at him.  
  
Henry turned around and began walking back down the road.  
  
{Oh, no you don't!}  
  
Ash jumped forward and blocked Henry's way back.  
  
{Alright, Henry!} Ash began. {We just made our way through a forest in a day, walked countless miles, pushed through a ton of bushes and brush, and even SKIPPED LUNCH, all to get you back. And now you're telling me that you DON'T want to go home!? Listen, when I skip a meal, it's to do something important! Don't tell me that all of a sudden, this isn't important to you!} Ash pointed a claw at Henry. {It's about time you went back home, and I'll take you there! Your mom and dad are worried sick about you because you're just way too young and not even close to being ready for a Pokémon journey! You're going back home, and you're staying there!}  
  
Apparently, Ash overlooked the fact that Henry couldn't understand a single word he just said. He realized this when Henry stared blankly at Ash's claws and replied, "I take it you want me to go home, huh?"  
  
{Yeah!} Ash responded, angry that he went hungry for nothing.  
  
Henry paused for a moment, then sighed and looked at the ground. "I guess you're right. I should just go home. Besides, I don't think I'm ready. Our time in the woods told me that." Henry looked up and smiled. "Yeah! I'll wait until I'm older and when we're both a little stronger! Then, we can both go out there and cream every Gym Leader from here to Olivine City!"  
  
Henry turned and (literally) marched back to his home. Ash grinned and shifted out.  
  
~~~  
  
Jude looked over her shoulder to see Ash shifting back in. Ash remained flat on his back for a moment.  
  
"Jude, you owe me two meals!" he announced.  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Bite me. How's that?"  
  
"What!?" Ash sat up abruptly. "HEY!!"  
  
Jude grinned spitefully. Ash growled before sparking an argument between Jude and himself. They continued as Apollo, Artemis, and Ziggy walked into the room and stared blankly at the two.  
  
"They argue as if they're siblings," Apollo commented.  
  
"How does the Prime put up with this?" Artemis asked.  
  
Ziggy, who previously had her arms crossed and her eyes closed, opened one eye at Artemis and replied, "He has an incredible amount of patience."  
  
~~~  
  
"So, what did you find out?" Crocus questioned with her back turned towards Bonnie and Clyde as the battered duo stood in her office.  
  
"We tried to capture McKenzie himself, but apparently, he wasn't at his lighthouse," Bonnie explained.  
  
Crocus turned around and pounded her desk in anger, causing Bonnie and Clyde to jump, yelp, and hug each other.  
  
"Imbeciles!" Crocus snapped. "I sent you to McKenzie's lighthouse to find out just how many other shifters exist, not to capture the son of a bitch! I already KNOW that he's not at his lighthouse! Agents stationed in Pewter City had located him on a shift and chased him into the Viridian Forest!"  
  
"We're sorry, boss!" the two flunkies said in unison. "We didn't know! We'll never make a stupid mistake like that again!"  
  
"Get out of my office and wait until I give you another assignment!" Crocus ordered. "I don't even want to see you right now!"  
  
Bonnie and Clyde scrambled out of her office and slammed the door shut behind them.  
  
'It's agents like that which bring me one step closer to getting on Keios' bad side,' Crocus thought. 'If that happens, I swear to god, they'll pay for that dearly...'  
  
~~~  
  
There had been an assortment of mirrors on the wall of one room in the darkened mansion. None full length; all only the ones you would typically hang on the wall as a constantly moving picture.   
  
One of these mirrors contained an image different from the rest. While the others reflected what was in the room, this one reflected what was in the world. Currently shown in this mirror was a scene in which a strange Ninetails defeated several Antiwarp shifters at once with a good Fire Spin. As the shifter's sparks of light floated up into the air, the tails of the Ninetails began to glow as an eerie, red corona surrounded the balls of light.  
  
The viewer, obviously, was not happy. Keios growled, keeping himself from smashing the mirror.  
  
"The Prime is getting closer," Keios muttered to himself. "This morning, he departed from Aigori's spring on Mount Moon, and already he has arrived in Viridian Forest. So far, Crocus' agents have failed to destroy him and the light inside him. That light MUST be extinguished if I have any hope of getting what I want from this world, especially before he gains complete control over it and his own powers.   
  
Keios stepped away from this mirror a bit.  
  
"The closer the Prime gets to Mount Silver, the more my patience with Antiwarp wears thin. If Crocus fails to come up with a plan that will successfully destroy the Prime before he reaches Aigori's damn servant, then perhaps it will be best if I allowed her to witness the true extent of my power..."  
  
The Ninetails in the mirror continued on with a smile on his face. Keios turned back toward the mirror and began to growl louder.  
  
"Celebrate now, Angel... You won't live long enough to enjoy being a shifter master..."  
  
At this, Keios lifted a fist and smashed the mirror.  
  
***  
  
End episode 17*7*  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: Cheshire's Smile. It's a metaphor comparing the crescent moon to the smile of the Cheshire Cat.  
  
*2*: According to a good friend o' mine, Savaga (who might as well compile her own scientific encyclopedia straight from the knowledge she stores in that greymatter of hers), everyone experiences more than one dream per night... just we can sometimes only remember one. (I've had occurances where I can remember two or more individual dreams... or they all meld together in one big, fantastic... quirktacular. i.e. The time I dreamt I was in a theme park under an orange sky, then wound up in a New York City deli, watching Napoleon order a bagel while using an Italian accent. I have no idea what triggered either dreams, but I think it has something to do with writing humorous fanfiction right before I go to bed. o_o;)  
  
*3*: No, I'm not hungry; I just couldn't help but make a Beatles reference in there. XD Strange song, though. =/  
  
*4*: I'd like to take the time to remind you that Sophie is the name I gave to Bill's cook. She only had one appearance in Warp Series, and because it was so obscure, I can't even remember when it was. ^_^;  
  
*5*: Jude can't see Bill's body while he's out of it unless she's got her visor on.  
  
*6*: Yep. Foreshadowing.  
  
*7*: Whew! Finally! It took me awhile, but episode seventeen is finally finished! I'd like to pause briefly to apologize if this episode lacked what the previous episodes have as of feel. I kinda rushed to get this one done, even if it wound up being a week late. ^_^; Anywho, season two is coming to a close rather soon. When? I'm not sure. I suppose we're about two to four episodes away from the season finale. But stick around and see what happens! ^_^ 


	9. Lost and Found

Foreword: Okay, so let's see. This is the last episode before the closing of season two. (Yes, I know. Dear god, this whole thing is going fast!) Then there's going to be an episode or two telling of Antiwarp's downfall, followed by one last episode introducing the next evil for next season.  
  
...That is, if everything goes according to plan. Perhaps lax an episode or add another one. I dunno. =/  
  
Anywho, thanks to a midi (Wow. Who'd a thunk it?), I've been turned off games for awhile, throwing all of my concentration into putting up my new blog, finishing a Furcadian dream, and, of course, writing Warp Series episodes and Labyrinth Game parts. ^_^  
  
Speaking about Labyrinth Game, I'm almost done with the first chapter. Unfortunately, I'm still looking for Shadows (though I might just make Agents and Shadows be the same people) and a few more Wanderers. I've already received enough Agents, and someone has tried out for the role as the Master (but with the latter, you can still try out -- I'm taking whoever is the most evil).  
  
I know. I'd hate to plug another fic, but... ^_^;  
  
Anywho...!  
  
***  
  
Episode 18--  
  
Lost and Found  
  
Artemis alone appeared at the edge of the lake. Zero sat on the grass beside the edge, staring into the waters. She only looked up when Artemis cleared his throat.  
  
"Lady Aigori, good evening." Artemis paused to bow. "I came because I want to know where--"  
  
She interrupted him. "The answer is no."  
  
Artemis refused to leave. "Lady Aigori, the Prime isn't ready to take the challenge and become a shifter master! He's weak! Barely recovered from the AS7!"  
  
"Do not underestimate him, my friend," she told him softly. "If Bill is truly the one we have been waiting for, which he is, then he will have no problem on his quest."   
  
Zero turned back to the waters. "I admit I was a bit doubtful at first as to whether he truly is the one or not, but when he battled Loki, then I knew. True, he is weak in body, but his spirit, the one thing that truly matters, is pure and strong, just like a child's. His isolation had helped him keep these qualities."  
  
She looked at Artemis. "The rest had revitalized his soul. The only way this can be done as quick as it had is if the soul contained the light we are looking for, and only if the soul in question were indeed pure could the light have any effect to begin with."  
  
"My foresight was not mistaken when I found him close to Tess,"*1* Zero concluded. "I have faith in him, and so should you."  
  
"I apologize, m'lady," Artemis muttered as he knelt down.  
  
"I accept your apology," Zero responded with a smile. "But..." She stood up and turned away from him. "If you truly must know, I sent him to see Red, just as I've sent Apollo when I wanted him to become a shifter master."  
  
"Wise decision m'lady," Artemis commented.  
  
"Thank you," Zero replied. "Now, return to your shifter and wait. Apollo had no help with becoming a master, and neither should Bill, so don't think of going after him. I simply told you where the Prime will be going so as to finally find some peace, free from questioning."  
  
"I'm sorry, m'lady."  
  
Zero smiled. "It's alright."  
  
Artemis began to leave, then paused and turned back around.  
  
"Lady Aigori," he addressed.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Will Ash be going through the same process?" Artemis asked.  
  
Zero paused before replying, "I see there will neither be time nor need for Ash to become a shifter master."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Ash had already fufilled his part of his destiny by gaining allies in legendary Pokémon. His role would be more to lead these Pokémon than to become them, though he too will fight against the darkness in a host. Besides..."  
  
"Besides...?"  
  
"Before Ash would finish his own quest, Keios would strike."  
  
"I see. So Keios is coming soon?"  
  
"Possibly."  
  
Artemis looked at the ground for a moment. "Zero, what can we do to prepare?"  
  
"Nothing," Zero replied. "Now, return to your shifter."  
  
"Yes, m'lady."  
  
With that, Artemis disappeared.  
  
~~~  
  
"So, Bill is going to see Red," Apollo concluded after his partner reappeared and explained everything to him as well as Ash, Jude, and Ziggy.  
  
"Who is Red?" Jude inquired.  
  
"Red is one of Lady Aigori's most enthusiastic followers," Apollo replied. "He's one of the many around the world who protect her, and he's the one who had been personally asked by Lady Aigori herself to test two of the three in the prophecy."  
  
"The prophecy?" Ash and Jude repeated in unison.  
  
"The prophecy," Apollo began, "is an old legend which states that someday--"  
  
Artemis leaped onto Apollo's shoulder and put a clawed paw over the human's mouth.  
  
"Ix-nay on the ophecy-pray!" Artemis hissed through clenched teeth. "Lady Aigori forbade us to tell them ourselves!"  
  
"Why don't you tell us about it?" Ash asked.  
  
"Yeah. We're going to find out eventually if it involves Bill, right?" Jude added.  
  
"Listen, Judy," Artemis responded. "We'd both love to tell you, but no one has ever disobeyed Lady Aigori's orders before, and if she's as powerful as everyone says she is, then I don't want to be the first."  
  
Jude ignored all points except one. She grabbed Artemis and held him up by a bit of skin on the back of his neck.  
  
"Don't call me Judy!" she snapped.  
  
"POINT TAKEN!" Artemis gasped. "Put me down! For the love of all things good, put me down!!"  
  
Jude dropped him.  
  
"I say Ash and I shift out, find Bill, and help him," Apollo announced.  
  
"Are you insane!?" Artemis snapped. "Lady Aigori strictly told us NOT to! You don't want to defy her, do you!?"  
  
"Lady Aigori is our leader, not our master," Apollo told Artemis. "She advises us to do things, but she doesn't order us to do them. If we defy her words, she will forgive us and see the better side to our actions. However, if we follow Lady Aigori's words now, there's a good chance that Bill's going to die."  
  
Jude's eyes widened. "What!?"  
  
"You didn't die!" Artemis protested. "So, Lady Aigori believe Bill won't either!"  
  
"Bill and I are different," Apollo responded as he took out a PokéBall. "Ash, pick a Pokémon, put your hands on it, and concentrate on shifting. Your soul should pass through your hands and into your Pokémon."  
  
"But... But..." Artemis tried to find some way to stop all of this, but Ash had already chosen Pikachu as Apollo chose Skarmory.  
  
"Good luck, guys," Jude said as she watched them shift into their respective Pokémon.  
  
"But what about Lady Aigori!?" Artemis inquired.  
  
Once again, the Sneasel was ignored as Ash hopped onto Apollo's back before the Skarmory flew out of the lighthouse.  
  
"Oh..." Artemis sighed and put a paw on his forehead. "Lady Aigori's not going to be happy about this..."  
  
~~~  
  
{GAAAH!!}  
  
Bill bounded through the tall grass, followed close behind by a relentless Rapidash who wanted nothing more than to take out her frustrations by knocking something around with her hooves. And this wasn't the beginning of a bad day.  
  
He woke up, finding himself, for the third day straight, trapped inside a Ninetails' body. Being on a shift for an extended period of time put stress on a shifter, and using the mystic energy within each tail of his host to seal away the Antiwarp agents' powers wasn't helping. Neither was using up good bits of Ninetails' (literal) firepower to defeat the agents in the first place.  
  
Sure, if you think THAT'S bad, when he went to a Pokémon Center to relieve the latter problem (the constant "running out of energy" bit), he was nearly captured by six different trainers. Being captured only meant an abrupt end to his quest, and he sure as anything wouldn't end up with the control Zero had wanted him to gain.  
  
And worse off, as soon as he was healed and evaded three more trainers, he only ran into more Antiwarp agents, spending even MORE power.  
  
Presently, Bill quickly dove into a clump of bushes. As the Rapidash nosed through it, he stealthily crawled out from under the bushes and took cover behind a clump of trees without the horse Pokémon's knowledge.  
  
As he sat and caught his breath, he thought, 'Dear god, I'm not much of a religious man, but could you please cut me a break?' He sighed. 'I can't wait until all of this is over...'  
  
He heard clomping behind him and unwisely looked around the tree to see Rapidash walk towards him, then break into a run. With a gasp, he stood up and ran as fast as he could toward a cliff and into the cave in its side.  
  
He sighed and laughed in relief as he saw Rapidash stop and huff at him from the cave entrance. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness and was then able to make out WHY she had stopped.  
  
{Hello, little foxy. Out of place, aren't we?} one out of five Onix hissed at him.  
  
Bill gulped and looked over his shoulder, back at Rapidash. The horse only smirked at him.  
  
{Oh... god ignores me today,} he muttered to himself as he bent down to the rock floor, covered his head with his paws, and shut his eyes tightly.  
  
However, no blows came. Bill opened an eye to see the back of a Golduck standing between him and the Onix.  
  
{Don't you dare hurt him!} Golduck snapped. {He was sent here by Lady Aigori! She told me so herself!}  
  
The leader Onix backed away. {Lady Aigori...? What would she want with a Ninetails? And why would she send one here?}  
  
Golduck gave the lot a stern look. {I'm surprised. None of you recognize her chosen.}  
  
{He's the one...?} a second Onix inquired. {Lady Aigori chose a Ninetails?}  
  
Golduck sighed. {No.} He looked back at Bill. {Rock types. They never get things quickly enough.} The duck turned back to the Onix. {The chosen is a shifter. He's naturally a human, but mentally, he went into a Ninetails. Please tell me you got that.}  
  
The Onix gave a collective, {Oh...}  
  
{In that case...} The leader Onix pushed Golduck aside with a light tap before bowing to Bill. {Please accept our apology. We don't welcome intruders, and we didn't know Lady Aigori sent you for a purpose.}  
  
Bill looked back at Rapidash, who gave him a surprised look before walking away. The Ninetails sat up and smiled.  
  
{It's quite alright and completely understandable,} he told the Onix.  
  
{Tell me something, Bill,} Golduck continued. {Uh, your name IS Bill, am I correct?}  
  
{Correct.}  
  
{You had been sent here to meet Red and become a shifter master, right?}  
  
{Yes.}  
  
{Are you sure you, as a fire Pokémon, can handle a cave full of rock, ground, and water types?}  
  
Bill fell silent.  
  
{Hmm...} Golduck turned to the Onix. {What do you say, Onix? Would you like to help him get to Red?}  
  
{Oh, anything for Lady Aigori!} two Onix exclaimed together.  
  
{Thank you,} Bill muttered with a bow.  
  
The Golduck grinned and hopped on the back of the leader Onix.  
  
~~~  
  
{Where are we going?} Ash finally asked Apollo as he looked over one steel wing and found Viridian City whizzing by beneath him.  
  
{Silver Cave,} Apollo responded.  
  
{What's that?}  
  
{Silver Cave is a cave infested with some of the strongest wild Pokémon possible, save for those that had been in the Cerulean Cave before it collapsed,} Apollo explained. {Trust me, as a trainer, you don't want to go in there... Unless you're as strong as Red.}  
  
{Then why are we?}  
  
{Lady Aigori sent Bill to see Red,} Apollo told Ash. {Red has made a home in the depths of the Silver Cave, coming out only to buy supplies. If we want to help Bill, we'll have to get to the area Red lives in before Bill does. But don't worry. I can take care of any rock and ground type Pokémon we'll come across with Steel Wing, plus the Ursaring. You can take care of the Golducks, the Golbats, and possibly the Magmar if you're strong enough. The Quagsire will hopefully leave us alone altogether, and I doubt the Misdreavus will bother us in broad daylight.}  
  
{Wow. You really know this place, don't you?}  
  
Apollo frowned a bit. {Before I was a shifter, I was a trainer. A good one. Almost to my dream, which was becoming a member of the Elite Four. My playground was the Silver Cave. My Pokémon slaughtered any opponent that dared to come across me, and together, we became stronger and stronger, taking one step after another and getting closer to our dream of becoming a world renowned trainer with his Pokémon team.}  
  
{Then what happened?} Ash asked, interested.  
  
{One day, I decided to find a different opponent. I decided to go through the Pokémon League again, but when I got to Cinnabar Island, I saw something I know I'll never forget. Missingno.}  
  
{And?}  
  
{Missingno bends reality,} Apollo explained. {Just seeing one can turn you into a shifter. Being touched by one, which happened to both you and Bill as a result of stepping into the Time Capsule and causing a glitch, has the same effect.}  
  
{How do you know about that? About the Time Capsule?}  
  
{Lady Aigori keeps me well-informed.}  
  
{Okay, so go on.}  
  
{After seeing Missingno, I began to shift, just like anyone else would. That's when I met Artemis. Supposedly, he's a sort of Pokémon god of ice. Lower than Articuno, higher than everything else, mostly because he's somehow learned Teleport and possesses ESP. It was Artemis who kept me connected with Lady Aigori, thanks to his powers; it was Artemis who helped me gain control of my own powers, and it was him who kept me company beyond just shifts... almost like how Ziggy is to Bill and how Jude is to you.}  
  
Ash blinked. {How Jude is to me?}  
  
{Never mind.}  
  
Apollo flew faster, approaching a cliff with an opening in its side.  
  
{This would be it! Silver Cave!} Apollo announced before landing.  
  
Ash hopped off his back and stopped for a moment.  
  
{Hey, Apollo,} Ash began. {If Bill is in a Pokémon's body, and we don't know what Pokémon that is, how will we find him?}  
  
{We'll be able to spot him,} Apollo replied. {Besides, we're not looking for him. Weren't you listening before? I said we were only going to get to Red before Bill does.}  
  
{What's the point in that? What if he gets hurt before he gets there?}  
  
This time, Apollo paused.  
  
{Good point.}  
  
The Skarmory shrugged before starting to the door.  
  
{Don't worry, Ash,} Apollo said. {The inside of this cave isn't completely complicated. It won't take long to find him, nor get to him if he calls for help.}  
  
The Skarmory and the Pikachu walked into the dark interior of the cavern. Apollo squinted before turning to Ash.  
  
{Ash, use Flash,} Apollo instructed.  
  
Ash stopped. {Uh... What?}  
  
{Flash. Use it.}  
  
Silence.  
  
{You know...? Flash. The move. You light up the room with electricity and turn into a walking lantern so we can see where we're going.}  
  
Still silence.  
  
{You DID teach Pikachu Flash, didn't you?}  
  
There was yet another short period of silence before Ash replied, {Um... No.}  
  
There was a clank as Apollo smacked a wing against his forehead. {Oh boy...}  
  
~~~  
  
Crocus paced in her darkened office, awaiting the arrival of Keios. Just hours before, Keios had informed her that the Prime was headed to the depths of Silver Cave to see Red, the legendary trainer. Since then, Crocus had woven together what she hoped to be the perfect plan.  
  
"Crocus," Keios growled. "Status report."  
  
"Master Keios," Crocus replied in a pleasant tone as she turned to face the two points of red light she knew to be Keios' eyes. "Sir, I have taken into consideration your pieces of information. In response, I've sent a human and several shifters to Silver Cave to impersonate Red and his team of Pokémon and to rendevous with McKenzie. I've made sure that the Pokémon given to our human imposter are all strong enough to make sure that McKenzie goes out with a bang... literally."  
  
Keios chuckled. "Beautiful..."  
  
"Thank you. I aim to please, Master," Crocus replied.  
  
"Yes, but you had better continue to pray that this plan of yours works."  
  
With that, Keios vanished, sending a short rush of cold air through the office.  
  
"Be careful, Master," Crocus muttered vindictively. "When I hold the whip, it will be you who will beg for mercy..."  
  
~~~  
  
The Onix, Golduck, and Bill had been travelling through the cave for what seemed to be at least an hour. Nothing seemed to be wrong; if a Pokémon dared approach them, the Onix scared it away, and otherwise, the cave was not at all threatening. In fact, it was quite peaceful, especially in the chamber they had just left, complete with underground river and waterfalls in it.  
  
{We're getting close,} Golduck announced as the Onix guided Bill across a large, stone bridge.  
  
The group fell silent once more, save for the grinding noises of Onix's undersides against the stone floor. Finally, even that stopped as the Onix stopped moving.  
  
The two rock snakes in the front slithered aside, allowing Bill to walk through. Before the party, still on the rock bridge, stood a young man with dark hair, dressed in blue jeans, a red, short-sleeved shirt with white sleeves, and a red hat over his fairly tamed hair. His back was turned towards the party for the longest while before Bill finally got his attention.  
  
{Excuse me... Zero sent me here to meet Red,} Bill explained. {I'm assuming you're Red, so--}  
  
Red turned around and smiled mischieviously. There was a glint in his dark eyes that told Bill something wasn't right. The shifter's suspicions were confirmed when Red brought out a PokéBall.  
  
"Blastoise! Go!"  
  
Before Bill loomed the giant turtle Pokémon.  
  
"Blastoise! Use Hydro Pump on each of those Onix!"  
  
Without a second thought, the single turtle took down five rock snakes. Meanwhile, her master brought out a second PokéBall.  
  
"Pikachu! Use Thunder on that Golduck!"  
  
An electric mouse sprang from the ball and did as he was told. Soon, Golduck was down as well.  
  
On instinct, Bill stood in a position he knew that Ninetails used to express their rage. All nine of his tails stood up as his fur bristled. He lowered his head a bit and bent his legs back slightly as he growled menacingly.  
  
{What are you doing!?} he inquired sharply, forgetting temporarily that Red couldn't understand him. {You had no reason to fight them!}  
  
"Blastoise! Boss Crocus told us that McKenzie would be a Ninetails," Red told his turtle Pokémon. "That one HAS to be him! Take him out with the hardest Surf you've got!"  
  
Blastoise followed her order and threw a surge of water at Bill. Luckily, the Ninetails managed to jump out of the way just in time, allowing the water to smack the rock, leaving behind a small crater for the Ninetails to land in.  
  
{Oh boy...} Bill muttered to himself as he noticed the crater. He looked back up at Red. {Why are you attacking me like this!?}  
  
"Blastoise! Try it again!"  
  
As Bill tried to jump up, one of his paws slipped on a smooth, wet rock, causing him instead to stumble forward just before the surge hit him and pushed him to the side. He nearly fell off the stone bridge and into the darkness below, but, though he was greatly weakened, he managed to hang on with his forepaws.  
  
"Blastoise! Finish him off with a Hydro Pump!"  
  
Blastoise stood over him, watching him struggle in vain to paw (excuse the pun) his way back up onto the stone bridge. After a few minutes, the turtle finally aimed both of her hydrolic cannons at him and blasted two streams of water directly on him, forcing him to let go of the bridge and drop into the darkness.  
  
Before he blacked out thanks to his weakness to water, he heard two things. The first was a voice ordering an Espeon to use Psychic, and the second was Apollo calling out to him, telling him to hang on. The latter was overrun with irony.  
  
As he plunged closer to the center of the earth, Bill groaned, closed his eyes, and lost consciousness.  
  
~~~  
  
Bill opened his eyes and immediately wondered if it were possible to die, even if he wasn't in his body. The second thought that came to mind was, if he were indeed dead, why did his host feel so painful?  
  
He felt something warm and dry go across his foreleg. He looked over to see an Espeon, licking an obviously bruised spot near a bandage on his leg. He drew the paw closer to him, away from the Espeon's tongue, then wished he hadn't as he flinched at the dull pain.  
  
{Where am I?} he asked.  
  
"You're in my home, Prime," a voice replied.  
  
Slowly, Bill sat up and came face to face with the young man from before... only with a less sinister face. The young man knelt down beside Bill and sprayed Hyper Potion on him. The shifter slowly felt his strength returning and the pain leaving.  
  
"You were attacked by an imposter," Red informed him. "Luckily, not long after, I came back from a shopping trip and used Espeon to defeat the human and seal away the powers of the shifters, none of whom deserve their powers to begin with.  
  
"However, I couldn't come in time to save you from your fall, but fortunately, this Skarmory, who calls himself Apollo, flew in to do this for me while his Pikachu partner, Ash, helped me get rid of the Blastoise."  
  
Behind Red stood Ash and Apollo, both of whom gave Bill a small nod.  
  
"You're too weak from the battle to proceed," Red told Bill as the trainer drew another Hyper Potion out from a bag. "However, after a bit of rest, you will have no problem."  
  
{Then, while we're waiting, may I ask a few questions?} Bill inquired.  
  
"Of course."  
  
{First off... How can you understand me?}  
  
Red smiled. "Lady Aigori thought that perhaps there would be an imposter to meet you here. Her foresight, of course, is strong. To distinguish between myself and the imposter, she granted me the ability to understand all shifters without the aid of watcher equipment."  
  
{And... may I ask you as to how exactly you will test me?}  
  
Red grinned again. "I'm not permitted to say. However, when I think you are worthy enough to become a shifter master, the test will discontinue."  
  
Everyone fell silent as Red sprayed more of the Hyper Potion on Bill. The Ninetails closed his eyes once more and lowered his head back to the rock. Within moments, he fell asleep.  
  
~~~  
  
He woke up again to find Espeon, once again licking his paw.  
  
{I don't mean to be rude, but could you please stop doing that?} Bill asked politely.  
  
Espeon drew her tongue back into her mouth and stepped back a bit. {I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable. I'm sure you understand that, to clean a wound, Espeon usually lick it. I was only acting on instinct.}  
  
{Of course,} Bill responded as he sat up, noticing that the Hyper Potions had taken effect.  
  
{Are you fully rested and restored?} Espeon inquired.  
  
{Yes, thank you.}  
  
{Good.} Espeon turned her back on Bill and began walking towards a small butte at the end of the rock bridge. {Master is waiting for you.}  
  
Bill paused for a moment before taking a deep breath and standing up. He knew that there was no reason to turn back now, and so he walked forward, following Espeon to the raised rock.  
  
He climbed up its side, only to find a camp set up on top of this. Ash and Apollo slept near a group of logs brought from the outside, no doubt the campfire. Red only now came out of a large, orange tent to the side with a box in his hands.  
  
"Lady Aigori tells me that you're to be a shifter master," Red stated. "Tell me, what would you do with your power?"  
  
Bill paused for a moment. Was this the test?  
  
{I would do what she expects me to do,} he finally replied. {I would use my abilities to help others in need.}  
  
"How do I know you wouldn't become drunk with power and attempt to abuse thousands of others?"  
  
{I could never bring myself to do such a thing!}  
  
"All humans could."  
  
{Would you?}  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
After a period of silence, Red looked into the box, then looked back at Bill.  
  
"Even if you manage to keep yourself from becoming a true monster, how could you possibly handle the great stress complete control of your powers can put on you? Not only is it physically exhausting to carry around such power, but the responsibility of possessing such a thing is a great burden. Your destiny takes effort and resolve. Do you possibly think you could handle such a thing?"  
  
{May I ask why everyone I encounter questions my determination? I don't know if I'm up for it physically, but mentally and emotionally, I can handle this. I'm willing to take the responsibility of my destiny if it involves improving the lives of so many others. I don't care about the burden, and if you think for one moment that I would at this point turn around and go home just because you question my resolution, you are COMPLETELY mistaken, my friend!}  
  
Red looked into the box again.  
  
"Honesty, purity, determination, courage. You've proven all three in this conversation alone." Red looked at Bill and smiled. "Congratulations. You've passed."  
  
Bill let out a sigh of relief, then stopped. {What now?}  
  
Red took a stone out of the box and held it as its center began to glow, emitting a blue light, thanks to the midnight blue crystal around its source.  
  
"Bill, do you know what this is?" Red asked.  
  
Bill stared at it for a long while. It wasn't like any evolution stone he had seen before, and he was positive it wasn't like any other stone on Earth, though sapphire might have come close.  
  
{Sapphire?}  
  
Red smiled and shook his head. "No. Long, long ago, there were twelve meteors which crashed upon this planet, sending out radiation which triggered transformations, creating Pokémon. The three stones that made up these meteors were later dubbed as the Moon Stone, the Sun Stone, and this stone I hold in my hand, the Cosmos Stone.   
  
"The Cosmos Stone, unlike its sister stones, doesn't trigger evolution. Instead, it has its own mystic property, giving magic to those who hold it and granting a certain amount of wishes to whoever gazes upon it. This particular stone only holds enough magic to grant one last wish, and that wish will be to unlock part of you to give you complete control over your powers. Close your eyes and clear your mind."  
  
Bill did as he was told, and not long after, he felt the hard smoothness of the Cosmos Stone being pressed onto his forehead.  
  
"Cosmos Stone, hear my plea... Grant the wish I wish to thee," Red muttered before falling silent, concentrating on his request.  
  
Though his eyes were closed, Bill could see a flash of bright, blue light. No wonder Red wanted him to close his eyes.  
  
After the light faded, he felt almost... different. And it wasn't just because the stone was taken away.  
  
"You may open your eyes now."  
  
Bill did so and immediately felt incredibly dizzy.  
  
"The effects of the unlocking," Red told him. "Congratulations. You are now a shifter master, one who can control when they shift, where they shift to, and, under certain circumstances, into what they shift."  
  
{It can't be that simple,} Bill said as he tried to steady himself.  
  
Red shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. But for now, shift back and rest. You need and deserve it. Lady Aigori will tell you more of what you need to know someday later."  
  
Bill nodded, then looked at Ash and Apollo. {What about...?}  
  
"I'll tell them to return once they wake up."  
  
Bill grinned at Red. {Thank you.}  
  
Red nodded as Bill shifted out.  
  
~~~  
  
It seemed as if a day passed before anyone could speak to Bill again. Right after the shift, he had fallen back asleep, followed by a long bath not long after he had waken up.*2* However, he was free to have questions pelted on him after he was able to at least get dressed.*3*  
  
"Do you know how much all of us worried about you!?" Ziggy questioned as soon as she appeared in his room.  
  
Bill arranged his ascot over his shirt and replied, "I would have brought you if Zero allowed it, but I'm afraid she didn't. And I'm sorry about that."  
  
"Are you alright now?" Ziggy inquired.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Why do I think you're lying to me?"  
  
Bill sighed. "Ziggy, you know me rather well. When did I ever lie to you?"  
  
"All the time when it concerned your health."  
  
He paused for a moment. "Hmm. So I have. Sorry about that. But Ziggy, trust me. I'm FINE."  
  
There was a small period of silence.  
  
"So, what do you think Lady Aigori wants you to do with your powers now that you've gained control over them?" Ziggy asked.  
  
Another small period of silence.  
  
"I'm afraid that... I don't know," Bill answered slowly. "I don't know what the future has in store for... any of us, but I have the strangest feeling that something will happen soon."  
  
"Something?"  
  
"Yes. I don't know what that something is, but... I know that it will have Ash, Apollo, and myself exercise our powers."  
  
"Weird. How soon?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Bill leaned against one of the walls in his bedroom and stared at the ceiling. Ziggy sat on his bed, expecting something else to be said.  
  
"...But god, how I wish I knew," Bill added.  
  
~~~  
  
'The imposters failed,' Crocus thought as she paced anxiously in her office. 'McKenzie is a shifter master. Something tells me Master Keios won't like this at all...'  
  
"CROCUS!"  
  
A shiver of fear went down Crocus' spine as she slowly turned to face the two points of red light, brighter than ever. She dropped to her knees and lowered her head.  
  
"M-Master Keios," she addressed. "I-I'm sorry for failing you. I... Perhaps if I had better help..."  
  
"QUIET, FOOL!" Keios roared before quieting down to a low growl. "You have disappointed me time and time again, and now, you have just OUTDONE yourself! I wanted McKenzie eliminated before he had a chance to gain control over his powers, and yet, you've let him slip past you and do just what I didn't want him to do!"  
  
"I know, Master Keios, and I'm sorry!" Crocus cried before bending down so that her face was close to the floor. "Please, Master! Just give me one more chance! One more!"  
  
Keios growled. "Yes... You have one more chance to get rid of McKenzie before I get rid of you. Use this opportunity wisely but execute your plan soon. My patience is wearing absurdly thin."  
  
Crocus lifted her head. "Thank you, Master Keios!"  
  
Keios growled and left the office, leaving Crocus behind to shiver. Her face was pale, and she found it hard to stand up.  
  
Suddenly, an idea came across her mind just as a smile crossed her lips. She exited her office, planning on delivering orders to every shifter in the building.  
  
"Tomorrow, I'll get rid of McKenzie once and for all," Crocus muttered. "Then, it will only be a matter of time before I have the world in the palm of my hand and Keios listens to my every command..."  
  
Crocus let out a short laugh as she walked down the hall with Oracle beside her.  
  
***  
  
End episode 18*4*  
  
---  
  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: Zero wasn't lying when she said she knew about Bill since she was born. She just hadn't realized Bill was "the one she was looking for" until she "found" him near Tess. What I mean will become clear when I post up that suspended episode. ^_-  
  
*2*: Yes, I had fun trying to picture this. ^.^  
  
*3*: Nah. I'm not perverted. I didn't picture much of this. ^_^;  
  
*4*: And so ends the episode which needed the least amount of footnotes. ^_^; I know I'm lagging behind as of that "an episode a week" thing, and I apologize. This week's episode was delayed partially because of schoolwork and partially because of my newest addiction involving an online fantasy RPG, Dark Ages. (It's so bloody addictive!) But now that I'm off it (and most other games), I'll try to get episode nineteen up sooner than I did the other recent few. 


	10. Anticlimax

Foreword: First off, I'm in a good mood, so beware of fluff. ^_^  
  
Second... *sighs* Once again, I find myself straying from my original intention. If anyone wants to see more Quantum Leap-y... ness... (or, simply, more science fiction), simply tell me.  
  
Third off, I'm aware that the last episode was a bit... weird. It's not that I'm running out of ideas; it's that my nighttime typing is getting a bit quirky... (See Everybody's Free to Use FTP.) =/ Sorry about that. ^_^;  
  
Fourth off, I'm aware that I had promised that I wouldn't deliver this late. Truth is, I wound up breaking that promise unintentionally. Apparently, it had slipped my mind that my family would be visiting this week, and so therefore, it would be difficult to find time to write another episode. Next week (and very possibly the week after that), there will be another delayed episode thanks to finals. In all cases, I apologize. ^_^; (By the way, things should clear up after the twelfth because that's when I finally get out of school. =D)  
  
Anywho, episode nineteen! ^_^  
  
---  
Episode 19--  
Anticlimax  
  
Zero remained by her lake, going over the past events once more as she stared at the crystal surface of her lake. A shadow grew over her until it covered her.  
  
"Salutations, Reno," Zero greeted.  
  
She turned around to see a young man with long, straight, auburn hair and amthyst eyes. His skin was hidden by a long, green coat, a black shirt, khakis, and a pair of black military boots. His only accessories had been the simple, black, pseudo-leather belt around his waist and the pair of oval-rimmed sunglasses pushed up on his head so that it sat on his hair just above the forehead.*1* He appeared calm, maintaining an inner energy, though he was fresh from a shift in a certain Golduck.*2*  
  
She looked away.  
  
"M'lady, I came to know if you aren't angered about our interference," Reno said. "We only did what we thought would be best, as you had taught us."  
  
Zero pressed her lips together. "I understand that."  
  
"Then, will you let Apollo, Ash, and myself off without punishment?"  
  
Zero paused for awhile.  
  
"Of course," she replied before closing her eyes. "Punishment shouldn't be necessary."  
  
"Thank you, m'lady," Reno said with a bow. "You always were just." He looked at her face. "But may I ask a question?"  
  
She opened her eyes and stared into his. "Of course."  
  
"How long until the beginning of the end?"  
  
There was another long pause.  
  
"I see..." Zero closed her eyes and lifted her chin a bit. "I see... The downfall of Antiwarp. A new betrayal. A short period of minor darkness. And then..." Zero opened her eyes and stared into the sky. "And then, Keios will reveal himself."  
  
"And then...?"  
  
"And then, it will be up to the Three."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Reno, after Antiwarp's downfall, you will have to lead the Three through a new problem," Zero stated. "Are you prepared?"  
  
"Always, Lady Aigori," he replied.  
  
"Good. Then you may leave."  
  
Reno turned to leave, then paused.  
  
"M'lady, may I ask another question?" Reno inquired.  
  
She turned a little to look at him. "Go ahead."  
  
"You told Artemis and myself where you sent the Prime," Reno began. "Then you told us not to go to him. Why would you give us his location in the first place?"  
  
"There are two answers to this question," Zero replied with a smile. "First, even I become annoyed when a certain question is asked to me one too many times, so answering the question about the Prime's location would put an end to the inquisition."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And secondly, I knew that if I told you not to go to a certain place, you would go."  
  
"Why did you want us to go to the Prime if you told us not to?"  
  
Zero's smile softened a bit more. "I foresee many things daily."  
  
Reno thought about this for a moment, then he understood. "You wanted us to help Bill all along! You wanted us to save him from the Pokémon! Then... why didn't you tell us to in the first place?"  
  
"It was not the right time," she answered before continuing about something else. "When it became the right time, it then turned into a test of loyalty. If you can truly be a team, you would disregard even my orders to help a teammate out. If not, you would have listened to me. And trust me, Reno... Soon, it will be that sense of teamwork that will be vital to all of you."  
  
"In the beginning of the end?"  
  
"Yes. And in another time as well."  
  
"Another time...?"  
  
Zero turned away. "That is all I can tell you right now. Please go."  
  
Reno paused, nodded, and walked into the forest.  
  
~~~  
  
Every agent who was still of some use (unlike the lackeys who couldn't even keep their shifting powers) gathered in the largest room of the laboratory, ready to hear their instructions. Each waited patiently, talking quietly amongst themselves about what Crocus could possibly want them to do this time.  
  
Suddenly, the room fell silent as the head scientist walked into the room. Her every step could be heard through the still anxiety. Finally, she reached a point in front of the group and turned to face them, like a general turned to face her troops.  
  
"As you know, we have tried many times to take over the world with our newfound powers," Crocus began. "And you all know that each time, there were successes, but also failures. Each major failure had been caused by our enemy, Project Warp, whose own leader alone had already cost us somewhere near fifty shifters. If we continue our operations, Project Warp will only be there to resist us and to eat away at more and more of our army.  
  
"Now, you may be wondering, 'What should we do about this?'" Crocus began pacing. "It has come to my attention that, though the group IS powerful, there is only one real shifter*3* in Project Warp. Compare that to our numbers, all present right now. If everyone shifts and attacks Project Warp's headquarters and especially leader, then we can easily outnumber, defeat, and dismantle Project Warp in the same half an hour, even if Dr. McKenzie takes the form of a legendary Pokémon.  
  
"My strategy may seem insanely simple, but it's flawless and will most definitely work. Your part of it will be simple. All shifters are to shift into any Pokémon they can get and rendevous with your fellow shifters outside of McKenzie's lighthouse. Oracle will keep watch, and, when she is positive all agents have assembled, she will give you the signal to attack the lighthouse all at once.  
  
"Though there is no possible way of doing so, DO NOT FAIL. Our employer is growing impatient due to our other attempts and expects a victory for once. If any of you cause the plan to backfire, you might as well not return. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, Boss Crocus," the agents replied in unison.  
  
"Is the mission clear?" Crocus asked.  
  
"Yes, Boss Crocus."  
  
Crocus grinned. "Very well. Now, go!"  
  
Literally half the agents present shifted out. The other half, those who decided not to gain the shifting ability, took their own Pokémon and headed to the lighthouse to carry out their mission the old fashioned way.  
  
After the last soul left the room, Crocus turned away and smiled. She drew a strange PokéBall from her pocket and stared at it. Its dark, venomous purple top seemed to gleam together like a jewel embedded in the silver that was its bottom hemisphere. Crimson paint on the top formed a letter D in such a way that it looked like it was drawn in blood, possibly due to too much paint and too little time to dry it in.  
  
"This will be the one thing I need to take control," Crocus muttered. "After Keios creates my kingdom, my first act as queen will be to put this into use. My Demon Ball..."  
  
Crocus smiled broadly as she pocketed it and walked out of the room.  
  
~~~  
  
Ash and Jude glared at each other. Artemis and Apollo watched on, both with interested glances.  
  
"You're not getting away that easily, pal," Jude hissed.  
  
"We'll see about that," Ash replied with a smirk on his face. "I'm going to be the number one master!"  
  
"Like it matters right now," Jude retorted.  
  
Bill walked by the doorway, then backtracked and glanced in with a curious look on his face. He walked into the room, looked at Ash, and then glanced at Jude.  
  
"I think I've got this all wrapped up," Jude announced.  
  
"Then make your move," Ash said.  
  
"Alright..." Jude looked down at the table and took two cards from in front of her. "I'll use my Wall of Illusion and La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp as tributes so I can summon the Dark Magician in attack mode--" She put both cards in a pile to the side and slapped a new one down from her hand. "--who, with the bonus he gets from my Yami card, can already destroy your Gaia the Fierce Knight and send you into an embarrassing defeat, but FIRST, I'll equip Dark Magician with Sword of Dark Destruction, and THEN attack. I end my turn there, and I believe, with thirty-one hundred attack points to twenty-three hundred, I've inflicted eight hundred damage, zapping away the pathetic two hundred life points you were hanging onto."*4* She stood up, smiled, and crossed her arms. "I win; you lose; you don't get that battle, and now YOU have to be like Joey and become my pet dog for a week."  
  
"Wah!" Ash fell backwards. "Hey! You had to have cheated somehow!"  
  
"Face it, dog boy, you don't know how to play the game!" Jude gloated.  
  
"Um... Can anyone tell me what exactly just took place here?" Bill inquired as he cocked his head.  
  
"Ash was bored, so he tried to challenge Jude to a Pokémon battle," Apollo explained. "She was in the middle of coming up with new strategies with those playing cards, so she said she wouldn't bother unless Ash could beat her at a game of Yu-gi-oh!. Ash agreed to play but got a bit overconfident, especially at seeing that Jude gave him powerful cards like the Blue Eyes White Dragon, so Jude got annoyed and told him that if she won, he'd have to 'be like Joey in the cartoon series' and do whatever she wanted him to do in a dog costume, probably improvised from one of your researching costumes. Needless to say, Ash is a horrible player, and Jude just won the game."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"We like watching your sister and Ash fight," Artemis said.   
  
Apollo added, "It's highly entertaining."  
  
"No, I wasn't wondering about that," Bill assured them.  
  
"Then what?" Artemis asked.  
  
There was another pause.  
  
"I'm just curious," Bill answered slowly. "What on Earth is a 'you key oh'?"*5*  
  
Everyone else stared at him with curious looks.  
  
He blinked, cocked his head, and said, "What? It was a legitimate question..."  
  
They still stared at him.  
  
He sighed, turned around, and walked out. "Never mind then."  
  
"My god, he's out of it," Jude muttered as she shook her head. "It's like he really IS back in Victorian England."  
  
Ash shrugged. "I dunno. He seems pretty cool."  
  
Jude narrowed her eyes at Ash. "Shut up and put on your dog suit."*6*  
  
~~~  
  
A few moments later (when she was good and serious), Jude opened the door to the cellar, peeked inside, and quietly slid past the door, closing it behind her. Quietly, she walked down the steps and found her brother, working on something on his computer... while half-hidden behind stacks of paper.  
  
She slinked up to him, paused, and finally said, "What are you doing?"  
  
Bill jumped in surprise while letting out a sharp yelp. He quickly turned toward Jude and gave her a startled glance.  
  
"Jude! You shouldn't sneak around like that!" he scolded.  
  
"Sorry," she responded with a smirk. "So, what ARE you doing?"  
  
"My job," he replied, slightly dryly and with a smirk. "Right now, I'm working on Pokémon battling statistics*7* -- how to predict them before a Pokémon is born based on its parents' statistics and how its personality affects them."  
  
Jude blinked. "You can figure out something like that?"  
  
"Of course," her brother answered as he continued typing. "Figuring out statistics alone involves simple mathmatic equations and small observations of both wild and tame Pokémon."  
  
"Why would you want to go through all that trouble?"  
  
"Why not? Statistics are important when it comes to battling, and therefore, it would be important to a trainer. I suggest you pay attention to your own Pokémon's stats during battle."  
  
"One last question..."  
  
Bill stopped typing and looked up at her. "Yes?"  
  
Jude raised an eyebrow. "You really like doing this sort of thing, don't you?"  
  
Bill smiled, looked back at the screen, and put his hands on the keyboard, though he didn't continue to type. Instead, he simply replied, "My career is my hobby."  
  
"Bill, have you ever had a life?"  
  
He looked back at her while cocking his head. "What do you mean?"  
  
Jude was about to say something more when a loud bang came from upstairs. Both brother and sister froze for a moment as Ziggy popped up.  
  
"Irony strikes again," she said, partially solemnly. "Bill, I hate to tell you this, but according to security footage from that other camera you set up, a surge of Pokémon have broken down the door and are right now stampeding into the lighthouse. It'll only be a matter of time before they reach us down here, so I suggest you shift, shift now, and shift into a good Pokémon."  
  
Bill nodded as he went to a locked cabinet set in a hole in the wall. "Thanks, Ziggy."  
  
He opened this cabinet, revealing six PokéBalls inside it. He selected one and handed the others, one by one, to Jude, who put them in her pockets.  
  
"If this host faints, let out another Pokémon," Bill instructed. "If you run out, get out of the lighthouse and head toward Cerulean City. Find any trainer there who can defeat the Pokémon upstairs. Do you understand?"  
  
Jude nodded. "Right."  
  
Bill took a deep breath and summoned the Pokémon whose PokéBall he held. Kadabra. He looked up for a moment at the ceiling, through which he could hear the commotion of what was no doubt hundreds of Pokémon. Finally, he closed his eyes and shifted out.  
  
~~~  
  
Ash (in Pikachu again), Apollo (inside a Poliwrath) and even Artemis were doing their best to drive away the Pokémon, all of whom turned out to be shifters from Antiwarp.*8* One by one, the trio knocked down host after host, driving each shifter out and sealing away their powers thanks to Artemis. But where one shifter fell, two more popped up, ready to fight again. And three Pokémon weren't enough to take down a large number of opponents coming at them at one time.  
  
Suddenly, Ash spotted Pokémon flying into the air due to a Psychic attack at the edge of the crowd.  
  
{Hey! I think Bill's joining us!} Ash called out to his allies.  
  
{That's great, but don't let your guard down just because we've got one more ally fighting!} Apollo yelled back. {Keep giving it all you've got!}  
  
Ash nodded and gave a Thunder to a Blastoise in front of him. The giant turtle fell, releasing a pink spark as a Tangla took its place.  
  
~~~  
  
The four fought for hours, knocking down as many agents as they could, and switching hosts whenever their current ones fell (save for Artemis, of course, who eventually fell at the hands of the agents, unfortunately, but was dragged to safety by Apollo).  
  
Unfortunately, by the hours' end, the army was only two-thirds defeated, and each shifter was down to their last host. Noctowl for Ash, Raichu for Apollo*9*, and Vulpix for Bill. Though each host was strong, it was obvious the three, who went through several battles in their current hosts alone, would lose against the last fifteen fresh Pokémon.  
  
Finally, Ash fell from the sky as a Geodude hit him with Rock Throw. He trembled, but wasn't able to pick himself up again.  
  
{Ash! Get up!} Apollo demanded before taking down a Pidgeotto.  
  
Ash only groaned.  
  
Bill gasped as a Cloyster hit him with a Water Gun. He was able to remain standing, but it was obvious that he was very close to ending up like Ash. He fired an Ember attack (excuse the pun) at a Grovyle beside Cloyster and made a direct hit. He watched as his target fell before he dodged a second attack from Cloyster.  
  
{Bill! Retreat!} Apollo commanded. {You're too weak to fight!}  
  
{And you're any stronger?} Bill countered, not meaning anything sharp by it. {Besides, then what will I do? This is the last Pokémon I can use as protection, and I'm not abandoning my home to the destruction of my enemies again!}*10*  
  
He stopped to use Flamethrower on a Magnemite.  
  
{Alright, so you're going to let them take you down,} Apollo stated as he used Swift on a Dugtrio.  
  
{I didn't say that!} Bill replied before using Confuse Ray on the Cloyster.  
  
Apollo struck the confused Cloyster with a Thunderbolt. {Right.}  
  
At that moment, a Golbat swooped in and sucked the last of Bill's energy with Leech Life. The bat flew up, allowing the shifter to slump over, defeated.  
  
Apollo attempted to use Thunderbolt on the Golbat but then realized one minor detail. He was out of electricity. His cheeks sparked as he helplessly backed away from the last of the Pokémon, knowing full well that, with no allies and little power, all he could do now would be to brace himself for an attack from the full group.  
  
All of a sudden, a large ball of light struck four Pokémon in front of Apollo. The four fell, and the other Antiwarp agents looked back to see what struck their comrades. There, not far behind the group, was a Dragonite, recharging from a Hyper Beam.  
  
{By the order of Lady Aigori, I have come to protect the three heroes of the prophecy,} Dragonite announced. {You will leave here without further attempts at harming them.}  
  
{Lady Aigori? Who's she?} a shifter inside a Sudowoodo asked.  
  
{Who cares who she is?} a Raticate countered. {She can kiss our Pokémon behinds! We don't have to follow orders from some chick we don't know, especially if we have our powers!}  
  
Dragonite heard this and became enraged. {HOW DARE YOU INSULT LADY AIGORI!}  
  
With that, Dragonite unleashed a Dragon Rage which struck the Raticate. The rat screeched and was thrown a few feet away, landing on the floor with a loud thud. A purple spark ascended from the body of the fallen rat.  
  
Dragonite remained in a battling stance. The other Pokémon stared at him for awhile, then shook and ran out of the lighthouse.  
  
Dragonite turned to Apollo. {Your current fight is far from over. Antiwarp will return with a different sort of soldier. Shift back and rest with your allies. I will return later.}  
  
~~~  
  
"Hey, Apollo! Be careful! We're supposed to be getting him to come to, not knock him out again!"  
  
"I know that!"  
  
Bill regained consciousness but didn't open his eyes right away, just like he always does. For a moment, he remained in darkness, slowly noticing that... someone was... carrying... him?  
  
His eyes shot open, and stared up into Apollo's face, who was helping to carry him up the stairs by lifting up his back. With a sharp gasp, Bill twisted out of Apollo's hands (and Jude's as well, seeing as she was holding up her brother's legs) and landed face down on the stairs.  
  
"Next time you want to do that, do you mind warning us first, Bill?" Jude asked as she stood with her arms akimbo.  
  
He placed his hands beside him, palms down, and pushed himself up into a kneeling position. "I'd like to ask of you the same thing."  
  
"Sorry," Apollo apologized. "We were trying to get you up to your room."  
  
"Yeah. That way, nothing shorts out when we decide to throw water on you," Jude explained.  
  
Bill raised an eyebrow and looked back at Jude. He knew that the whole thing had been her idea, seeing as that was typical early teenaged logic.  
  
She cocked her head. "What?"  
  
"Nothing." He stood up. "Apollo, what happened after I was knocked out?"  
  
"A Dragonite came to finish off the other agents," Apollo replied. "He said that our fight against Antiwarp isn't over yet. More agents will come, and with them, he'll be back too."  
  
"Interesting... A Dragonite," he muttered.  
  
"Um, and what about the other thing he just said?" Jude asked.  
  
Bill frowned slightly. "The only thing we CAN do is rest up. Tell Ziggy to keep monitoring the perimeter and to notify all of us if she picks up on something. By the way, where exactly is Ash?"  
  
"Asleep," Jude replied. "And I'd just like to warn you, Bill -- I don't think Ash would wake up thanks to an atomic bomb, let alone Ziggy."  
  
"And you're any worse, Miss Just-give-me-five-more-minutes?" Bill inquired as he raised an eyebrow for a moment. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to retire to my room to rest before I have to shift again. Apollo, you should do the same."  
  
Apollo nodded and followed Bill up the stairs before retreating to a guest room, leaving the researcher to slip into the master bedroom and the red-headed girl to stay on the stairs for a moment.  
  
"I'm not as deep a sleeper as Ash," Jude muttered.  
  
~~~  
  
The day wore into night before anything happened. As soon as darkness covered the land and Selene took up her kingdom, Jude turned on the beacon and stood for a moment in the silence of the base of the lighthouse tower. Somewhere outside, she heard... helicopters...  
  
Jude dashed out of the control room and nearly ran into Bill. He held her by the shoulders for a brief moment before pushing her aside lightly and dashing towards the door.  
  
"Bill! What's going on?" Jude asked.  
  
He held up his left index finger to his mouth, signaling that he wanted Jude to remain silent for a moment. Carefully, he opened the door a crack and peeked outside before closing it again, swiftly darting to Jude, grabbing her by the wrist, and pulling her to the cellar. The two stood just inside the slightly-closed door, a few steps down.  
  
Both remained silent until Bill finally spoke.  
  
"Ziggy picked up on something," he explained in a whisper. "Quite a lot of somethings. The other Antiwarp agents no doubt, all in helicopters."  
  
"How much time do we have?" Jude asked in an equally low voice.  
  
He shook his head. "Not enough. Have all the Pokémon been healed?"  
  
"Yeah, but I don't think they'll be able to stand up to ALL those trainers at once," Jude told him. "That's probably double the Pokémon out there! They'll destroy you AND the others, smear the walls with our blood, and then level the place."  
  
"Well, you're rather optomistic," Bill hissed with sarcasm. He continued in a normal tone. "We don't know if there's an equal amount of shifters and non-shifters in Antiwarp, nor do we know how many Pokémon each trainer has. Besides, if they're all ex-Team Rocket members, we shouldn't have a problem. Rockets STEAL strong Pokémon, not raise them."  
  
"And you're rather sure of yourself," Jude responded.  
  
"Get the Pokémon ready," Bill instructed. "Ash and Apollo will be down to retrieve theirs theirs soon."  
  
Jude nodded and started down the stairs before stopping briefly and turning at the bottom.  
  
"Hey, Bill?" she addressed.  
  
He looked at her with a curious glance.  
  
"I just wanted to say..."   
  
She paused. She couldn't bring herself to say those three words she was thinking of, even if it was meant in a familial way. She felt she was too tough and too old to be saying that sort of thing. Besides, it may have a morbid feel to it, as if the person she wanted to say it to wouldn't live to hear it later.  
  
"What?" Bill finally asked.  
  
"I just wanted to say..." Jude took a deep breath, lowered her head, and said something else instead. "Good luck, Bill."  
  
She looked up at his warm smile. She hated when he looked at her like that.  
  
"Thank you, Jude," he replied with a nod. "Now, go get those Pokémon ready."  
  
She nodded and ran to the cupboard as he turned toward the door. He heard people come into the lighthouse -- their whoops, their hollers, their sounds of destruction, and of course, one particular phrase...  
  
"Down with Warp! Death to McKenzie!"  
  
Bill remained somewhat calm on the outside, remembering what Jude had said to him last.  
  
'Good luck,' he thought nervously as he closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. 'I'll need it now more than ever...'  
  
~~~  
  
Ash, Apollo, and the recently-healed Artemis peeked out the hidden door leading to the corridor to the living quarters.  
  
"Here we go again," Artemis muttered.  
  
"Don't shifters catch a break?" Ash inquired.  
  
"Of course not," Apollo replied. "Wherever there's wrong in the world to be righted, we'll be there!"  
  
"I always dreamed of being a superhero," Ash said, "but I never thought it would be like THIS."  
  
On the edge of the advancing band, a surge of electricity blasted across a section amid the people, catching them by surprise before they could release their Pokémon.  
  
"That's got to be either a rogue Antiwarp Pokémon or Bill in Jolteon," Apollo figured. "Let's hope it's the latter and shift now."  
  
"Shift? Into what?" Ash asked frantically.  
  
"Oh yeah... You can't control where you shift yet," Apollo recalled. "Alright, I'll shift, and you wait here until I bring up a Pokémon."  
  
"Pikachu?"  
  
"Whichever." Apollo turned to Artemis. "Artemis, go out there and start fighting."  
  
"Got it!" Artemis responded as he darted out into the crowd, issuing Slashes and Blizzards wherever he could.  
  
After this, Apollo shifted out.  
  
~~~  
  
Jude had released all of the Pokémon in the cellar. It was a tight fit, but it made things a hell of a lot easier. She watched as a blue spark descended into a Poliwrath, signaling that Apollo had just arrived.  
  
"How bad is it, Apollo?" Jude asked as she fixed her watcher equipment on herself to understand him.  
  
{They have yet to release their Pokémon,} Apollo told her. {However, though the trainers are less in numbers than the shifters we had encountered earlier, the group is large enough to make this a long and violent battle.}  
  
"Good luck then."  
  
{Thank you.} He turned to Pikachu, who approached him from the side. {Pikachu, Ash had requested you.}  
  
{I figured,} the electric rat replied before following Apollo up the stairs.  
  
Jude stared at the door for awhile before bringing four PokéBalls from her pocket.  
  
"Flareon! Charmeleon! Houndour!"   
  
Jude threw three of the PokéBalls on the ground. All three of the named Pokémon appeared before her, waiting for their commands.  
  
Jude bent down and spoke with the three. "There's a fight going on upstairs. A big one. Go up there and fight off all the people upstairs. Okay?"  
  
The three nodded and turned, heading up the steps and out of the cellar. As they were doing so, the other Pokémon looked at each other, knowing that their masters were in trouble and that the last thing they should do was to be standing around a floor below the struggle. They nodded to each other and marched up the steps.  
  
"Hey! Where are you all going!? Stay here!"  
  
Not one of them listened to the human girl. After the last Pokémon disappeared through the cellar door, the girl looked at the PokéBall she held in her hand and threw it.  
  
"Cyndaquil! Go!"  
  
The fire mouse appeared before her. She bent down and scooped up the Pokémon, holding it in her arms like it was a teddy bear.  
  
"This is gonna be one hell of a conflict," she muttered.  
  
~~~  
  
As soon as the other Pokémon jumped in, the odds of Warp actually winning without Dragonite's help seemed to increase, which is part of the reason why none of the shifters said anything. (The other being that they were too busy to say anything anyways.)  
  
However, upon realizing that the opponent grew, Antiwarp summoned more Pokémon to both attack and defend themselves.  
  
The battle, once again, lasted for hours, with Pokémon fainting left and right on both sides and Antiwarp members being "blasted off" here and there.  
  
It took awhile, but the small regiment of Warp Pokémon had been reduced to only the original three: a beaten Jolteon, an exhausted Pikachu, and a determined Poliwrath. The three stood their ground, despite the fact that the others (who had fallen because Antiwarp continuously ganged up on each of them) had left them with seven Pokémon and trainers still to defeat, outnumbering them by four.  
  
The Pokémon received orders to attack the strongest of the three, the Poliwrath, to take him down instead of him taking them down if they went after the electric types. The seven Pokémon nodded before gathering and swiftly striking the Poliwrath with seven different attacks. Each one hit Apollo directly, causing him to scream in pain before collapsing. He tried to stand up, but this only led to him falling back down again. Before long, a blue spark rose from Poliwrath.  
  
One down, two to go.  
  
The Pikachu and the Jolteon stood there, growling at the seven before the Jolteon struck with a Thunderbolt. The attack electricuted two of the Pokémon and sent them flying into their trainers, who then retreated after being electricuted themselves, leaving their comrades alone to fight.  
  
Two down, five to go.  
  
At that point, the Pokémon on Antiwarp's side received orders to attack the Jolteon to avenge their friends. And so, they did, launching an attack on the electric Pokémon. It did its damage, and Bill fell, just like Apollo had, but he was well enough to stay inside Jolteon (though not well enough to force the Pokémon back up).  
  
One down, one to go.  
  
Ash backed up. He was out of energy and out of strategies, and now, he was being surrounded by five Pokémon.  
  
Suddenly, a Dragon Rage smacked into the three Pokémon and trainers in front of Ash. It lifted them off the ground and flung them into the air, causing them to blast off, leaving their two allies behind.  
  
Three down, two to go.  
  
It seemed that everyone looked up to see the seven-foot dragon that stood just feet away. It was what Bill was waiting to see.  
  
{Dragonite...} He muttered with a relieved tone before shifting back.  
  
{Dragonite!} Ash cried out with joy.  
  
Dragonite nodded to the Pikachu before turning to the last remaining Antiwarp agents, both of whom stood behind their Pokémon, a Magneton and a Pinsir.  
  
{You and your masters have caused enough trouble for the Three,} Dragonite said to the Antiwarp Pokémon. {If you obey Lady Aigori, you will stop fighting and leave with your trainers.}  
  
{Lady Aigori!} Pinsir spat. {She is not my master. I don't carry out her orders. My master is only the trainer behind me, who in turn is the subject of Keios. He's done a lot more for me than that weak little pixie Keios taunts so much. You can keep your little star faerie!}  
  
{Very well,} Dragonite growled. {And you, Magneton?}  
  
{I would love to honor Lady Aigori's word,} the magnet replied. {Before I was a servant of the trainer behind me, I was loyal to only my clan and her. But now, I can only carry out orders from another human voice. Destroy me, Dragonite. It's all you can do for me.}  
  
Dragonite nodded. {Very well.}  
  
The agents didn't know what to do. With no tricks up their sleeves and weakened Pokémon, they couldn't see how they could withstand the power of the mythical dragon before them, let alone launch an attack that could defeat Dragonite in the only move they had.   
  
And so, they stood and watched as Dragonite launched a Flamethrower at both Pokémon. Pinsir fell as he laughed, and Magneton fell as it regretted not being able to fight for the peace Lady Aigori promised to bring someday.  
  
The two agents gasped and ran out of the building with their Pokémon safely in their respective PokéBalls, praying that Dragonite would allow them to leave, unharmed.  
  
And the merciful beast allowed them to.  
  
All of a sudden, there was a clamor. The cellar door burst open, and out ran Bill, eager to study Dragonite... even after forcing himself up and regardless of the fact that he SHOULD be exhausted from the shift.  
  
"Bill, don't you think you're running around a bit too early?" Jude asked as she grabbed him by the sleeve with one hand and held Cyndaquil with the other. "Don't you think you should rest a bit more?"  
  
"Nonsense!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "Dragonites are extremely rare, meaning this could be a once-in-a- lifetime encounter! If I pass up a chance to study one, I'll never forgive myself!"*11*  
  
Jude sighed as her brother pulled his arm out of her hand and ran over to begin taking notes about the dragon on a notepad he carried up with him.  
  
"Some things never change," Jude said as she put a hand on her head.  
  
At that point, Ash shifted out, joining Apollo and coming back downstairs to see the Dragonite again.  
  
"I wonder if I could catch it..." Ash muttered as he pulled out a PokéBall.  
  
{I wouldn't suggest it,} the Dragonite replied. {Not until I shift out.}  
  
"Woah! So you're a shifter too?" Ash inquried.  
  
The Dragonite nodded. {My name is Reno, and my loyalty lies with Lady Aigori. Some of you already know me.}  
  
Apollo and Artemis nodded to the dragon.  
  
"I was wondering when you'd join us," Artemis commented.  
  
"Oh, blast!"  
  
Everyone turned to look at Bill.  
  
He sighed. "There goes my observations of a typical Dragonite's behavior..."  
  
At this point, Ash, Jude, and Artemis fell over.  
  
"Talk about changing the subject!" Ash cried out.  
  
Just then, Ziggy appeared. She blinked at the scene, then looked away, staring at a spot somewhere not far away.  
  
Jude pulled herself up on her knees and cocked her head. "Hey, Ziggy! What's up?"  
  
"I'd hate to alarm you, but you've been watched since the shifter struggle earlier today," Ziggy told the group.  
  
"Really?" Artemis stood up. "By who?"  
  
Ziggy stared hard into the darkness before growling, "Oracle."  
  
The white-haired hologram appeared, floating in midair only a foot or two above the ground in a lotus position. She rested her cheek on a hand which was propped up by one of her legs as the other hand was on her hip.  
  
"Well, well! Tough little rodents, aren't we?" Oracle commented.  
  
"You bet!" Ziggy snapped aggressively. "Warp can take whatever you dish out! We've got the support of Lady Aigori and her followers on our side! Just ask Reno!"  
  
"I don't care to talk to weaklings," Oracle replied smoothly. "Besides, your shifters will be begging for mercy under Master Keios before he can even get warmed up. If you think the toughest battles were today, just wait until you go up against my employer!"   
  
Oracle let out a quick laugh before stopping and blowing a kiss to Ziggy. The blue-headed hologram nearly spewed virtual vomit at this but still kept enough dignity to growl menacingly at Oracle as the evil girl gave her a short wave.  
  
"Au revoir, Creampuff!" Oracle called before vanishing.  
  
"Creampuff. Nice nickname," Artemis commented.  
  
"Shut up," Ziggy growled.  
  
"If she was trying to intimidate us, it didn't work on me," Apollo said.  
  
"Me neither!" Ash added as he jumped up into a standing position.  
  
"What about you, Bill?" Jude asked.  
  
He looked up from his notes. "Hmm? What? I'm dreadfully sorry. I was busy taking notes, so I didn't pay attention to anything any of you had just said."  
  
There was a collective groan in the room.  
  
"Bill, would you stop thinking about the Dragonite for a few minutes and keep up with us for a moment!?" Jude demanded.  
  
He cocked his head. "Why? What did you just say?"  
  
"Didn't you hear what Oracle said!?"  
  
"Oracle was here? Strange... I didn't notice."  
  
Jude slapped her forehead. "Dear god, you're oblivious..."  
  
Bill shrugged and turned back to the Dragonite... which had disappeared.  
  
"Oh, BLAST!!" he cried out in dismay.  
  
"Bill!" Jude snapped.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What about Oracle?"  
  
"What about her?"  
  
Jude let out a frustrated growl. "Never mind!"  
  
~~~  
  
Keios stared into another mirror, one close to the broken one. In this mirror, he saw the defeat of the agents, playing it over and over again like someone would play a part of a tape in a VCR over and over again.  
  
He growled. "So, Crocus' agents have all been defeated. I knew I shouldn't have trusted her to fufill a simple assignment such as this."  
  
Keios turned his back on the mirror and began to pace.  
  
"The Three continue to gain allies," Keios muttered. "And with each ally, their power increases. Soon, the Three will be able to fufill the untouched part of the prophecy, and that is a day I dread. But what to do to stop it...?"  
  
He stopped, then looked into another mirror, at a different gathering of people. A council meeting in a room of light. At this, Keios grinned.  
  
"Of course... Find new puppets to do my bidding... But then..." Keios frowned, turning to another mirror which showed Crocus pacing in her office. "What should I do with Crocus and her unfufilled wish...?"  
  
He thought for a moment before a smile spread across his face. With that, Keios laughed and vanished in a swirl of darkness before the images in the mirrors disappeared, allowing the mirrors to reflect only the darkness of the room.  
  
***  
  
End episode 19*12*  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: The clothing description actually came from one of the example pictures of an antihero in the instruction book Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics by Christopher Hart. (Yep. I suggest picking it up sometime. It's a good guide... and the pictures are for the most part good enough to drool over... ^.^) And no, this doesn't really tell you much about Reno's character. Just like how you can't tell that Vash the Stampede is a doughnut nut (excuse the pun) just by the way he looks (unless he's holding a box of doughnuts or anything doughnut related).  
  
*2*: Yep. That was him in the last episode.  
  
*3*: Crocus doesn't know that Ash, Apollo, and Reno are all shifters. Here, she supposes that the only two people that make up Warp are still only Bill and Ziggy.  
  
*4*: Just for the record, Jude is supposed to be not only an avid skater but also a gamer girl extrodinaire (and yes, a fairly decent cook). And furthermore, yes, that IS one of my strategies. ^_^  
  
*5*: The poor guy misheard Apollo. ^_^; Well, he's not supposed to be... well, with it. ^_^;;;;  
  
*6*: The only point to this whole scene is comic relief. Kami knows we need it right about now. =/  
  
*7*: The attack, defense, special attack, special defense, speed, and evasiveness of each Pokémon.  
  
*8*: The Pokémon from the non-shifters hadn't arrived yet.  
  
*9*: Ash and Apollo would go back to their own bodies, where they would summon a new Pokémon from their Pokémon team to be their next host. This should be obvious, but there's some people out there who would be a bit confused.  
  
*10*: He's referring to how he was forced to run from Team Rocket in Past, Present, and Future Sight.  
  
*11*: I think this is the closest to in-character I've had Bill be since... well, the beginning of Warp Series. O_o; And by the way, there's a few more notes on the Dragonite subject. Number one, the first person who brings up the "he didn't know what a Dragonite was" argument spawned from "Mystery at the Lighthouse" gets a whack. -_- Secondly, if anyone asks why he just doesn't raise a Dratini into a Dragonair and then a Dragonite, it's because... Well, dang it! They're so friggin' hard to raise to the point of evolution! Or catch for that matter! _o  
  
*12*: And so ends the second-to-last episode of the Antiwarp Saga. I'll still have one more episode involving what happens with Crocus and this "council meeting". Then, I'll do the usual extras before starting the next season for summer break. (Yay!) And once again, I apologize for both the lateness and the rushed feeling at the end. Blame school, a family visit... and a sudden addiction to Golden Sun. ^_^; 


	11. Long Live the Queen

Foreword: Finals and pretty much anything else do NOT mix. Beware of crap. o_o;  
  
And also, thus begins the end of the second season. (With, oddly enough, only nine episodes. So much for a series, ne?) Yes, expect the usual: Question/Answer, Bloopers, Trailer. I'm working on the first two in addition to this. ^_^  
  
And thirdly, I know I shouldn't do it, but... Shameless advertising for the Masaki Fan Club! Join today and experience the randomness we go through! Let's see... RPGs, discussions about Sonezaki Masaki (and just about everything else, for that matter), funtastic polls, pictures, fandomy blurbs of insanity, and tons more Masaki funness! Sign up today at groups.yahoo.com/group/masakifc! (We've only got seven members! PLEASE HELP US!!)  
  
*coughs* And now to regain my dignity...  
  
***  
Episode 20--  
Long Live the Queen  
  
Crocus trembled. She knew she was in big trouble. She knew it. None of her agents returned, meaning that all had failed. And she was positive that Keios didn't take well to failure.  
  
She paced in the darkness of her room, awaiting Keios' arrival. She wondered if the Demon Ball would fail her.  
  
She stopped.  
  
'No,' she thought. 'I've worked for months since I found out what Keios REALLY was. I went through hours of labor to perfect the Demon Ball! There's no way it will screw up!'  
  
Suddenly, there was a rush of cold in the room.  
  
"Crocus..." Keios growled. "You have disappointed me... You know what I must do next, don't you...?"  
  
"Yes," Crocus said with an unintentionally shaky voice. "But before you get rid of me, it's time that I get rid of your freedom!"  
  
She whipped out her Demon Ball.  
  
"Prepare to be enslaved by the hypnotic effects of my Demon Ball!"  
  
She threw it at Keios. To her surprise, he caught it and crushed it into a fine powder with one hand.  
  
"Crocus, did you honestly think I didn't know what you had in mind?" Keios inquired with a laugh. "I had my eye on you day in and day out. I watched you plan and create the Demon Ball, the one thing you believed would successfully capture me and force me to be your servant. However, what you didn't know is that I cannot be enslaved. I am a free being, and you cannot change that!"  
  
Crocus trembled and fell to her knees. Keios watched her and began to laugh.  
  
"No, Crocus," he said. "I will not destroy you yet. I have another idea in mind..."  
  
Crocus looked up as Keios produced between his great hands a stone of bright green. The light within it pulsated as two bands of dark violet metal grew from behind it, joining together in a ring large enough to fit around Crocus' head.  
  
"Crocus, do you know what this is?" Keios asked as he held it up.  
  
Crocus couldn't speak. Instead, she shook her head with short, rapid movements.  
  
"There is a rare stone found in certain craters called a Cosmos Stone," Keios told her. "It has the power to grant a certain number of wishes to whomever holds it before it fades away into nothingness. If a sample of Cosmos Stone is pure, it will be a dark blue color and will only grant wishes. On the other hand, if the stone is fused with a dark, demonic energy, then it becomes a Hell Stone, a bright green stone like the one you see here. The Hell Stone can be used as both a means to grant wishes or as a weapon of undefined and ruthless power."  
  
The circlet descended into Crocus' hands. She stared at it blankly.  
  
"Wear this," Keios instructed, "and go to the Prime's lighthouse yourself. With the Hell Stone, you will be able to defeat and eliminate him no matter what he does. In fact, you can destroy all of northeastern Kanto with the full power of the Hell Stone if you so desire. Take my gift and use it well, Crocus."  
  
Crocus bowed. "Thank you, Master Keios."  
  
Keios vanished in a swirl of dark energy, leaving Crocus to hold the circlet with the glowing stone. She felt its power and feared it, but she did as Keios told her, placing the circlet around her auburn-haired head.  
  
The stone gave off a bright, green light as Crocus let out a bloody scream.  
  
~~~  
  
In the back of a grotto, Zero slept on a bed she had kept there. Her dreams were pleasant until she saw something.  
  
Her eyes shot open. A hand reached under her pillow and pulled out her circlet, on which the blue stone glowed brightly.  
  
"Something is coming," she whispered to herself.  
  
She sat up and got out of bed before placing the circlet on her head. Her bare feet moved across the stone floor and out onto the grass fringing the bank of her lake. She stood over its pure waters and stared into them. Suddenly, everything became clear.  
  
"The Prime," she gasped. "I must warn him!"  
  
"Lady Aigori?"  
  
She turned to see Reno approaching her from the side.  
  
"Reno, good morning," she greeted before continuing. "I have an important message for the Prime. I need to go to him right away!"  
  
"It's too dangerous for you to leave your lake," Reno told her. "Why don't you just tell me the message, and I'll go to him myself."  
  
Zero shook her head. "I must go to him physically and completely. Not project my image*1* nor speak to him through dreams or thoughts. I must physically be in the presence of his human self. Will you help me?"  
  
There was a long pause.  
  
"Lady Aigori, it would be best if you stayed here," Reno finally told her.  
  
"My message is of grave importance!" Zero protested. "If I am not able to speak with Bill, there is a good chance he will die!"  
  
Reno stared at her with wide eyes before nodding.  
  
"Alright. I'll take you to him," he finally said.  
  
"Thank you, Reno," Zero said with a bow.  
  
~~~  
  
"Hope you're not planning anything outdoors today! Today's forecast is severe thundershowers with even a chance of hail later on today, high of 64. And now on to our next story..."  
  
"A chance of hail," Bill scoffed as he glanced away from the radio next to him on the kitchen table and out the window, watching as little ice balls rained down from the darkened sky.  
  
It had been like that for the past two days. Rain, thunder, lightning, hail, clouds so thick and dark it made morning (just like it was presently) look like night.  
  
He sipped his cup of tea and continued to listen to the news on the battery-powered radio. The electricity was down, and the generators were only being used on the beacon (which was on for god knows what reason).   
  
A faint scent came from the lit scented candles Penny had insisted on giving him for Christmas... and his birthday... and pretty much every other day that seemed to require gifts. He didn't complain. It's the thought that counted, and besides, a good lot of ones he didn't light up were used as paperweights in the cellar.  
  
Jude stumbled into the room, still half asleep. She rummaged through the cabinets and managed to find enough to fix herself a bowl of cereal. After she did this, she sat down with her bowl at the table, stared at it for a moment, then pushed it aside and buried her head in her arms as she crossed them on the table.  
  
"Good morning, Jude," Bill greeted.  
  
He couldn't hear her response, but it WAS done in a harsh, "leave me alone" tone.  
  
"Didn't get much sleep either, eh?" he asked her.  
  
She looked up at him. "What sort of person would!? Night after night, there's enough thunder to wake the dead!"  
  
"Don't worry," he assured her. "The storms should subside soon."  
  
"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID YESTERDAY!!"  
  
He calmly took a sip of tea without answering her.  
  
"What makes you think that tomorrow, we'll wake up, and it'll be a sunny day?" she asked him.  
  
"I didn't say it would happen tomorrow," he replied.  
  
"Whatever. What makes you think it'll happen?"  
  
"No storm lasts forever." He paused. "Unless of course you're on Venus... or all of the outer planets except for Pluto..."  
  
"What if Earth DOES turn into one of those planets?"  
  
"With today's environmental programs forcing the reduction of air pollution, I highly doubt that would happen right now."  
  
Ash came into the room with a cheerful face.  
  
"Hi, everyone!" he greeted before he sat at the table. "Hey, Jude! Are you gonna eat that?"  
  
Jude narrowed her eyes at Ash and pushed the bowl of cereal across the table to him.  
  
"Thanks!" he said, eating gratefully.  
  
"How can the both of you be so cheerful in the morning?" Jude asked before burying her face again.  
  
"I get a lot of sleep," Ash replied. "I couldn't even hear the storm last night!"  
  
Jude rolled her eyes, though Ash couldn't see that.  
  
"Anti-depressants," Bill answered as he stared out the window.  
  
Jude looked at him. "Seriously?"  
  
He smiled. "No. Actually, I'm naturally cheerful."  
  
"Right. Whatever you're on, I'd like to be on it too."  
  
"I don't do drugs."  
  
"Suuure you don't."  
  
Bill sighed.  
  
~~~  
  
Apollo and Artemis didn't join this scene. The reason why is because they were busy with a conversation of their own.  
  
"Artemis, wake up."  
  
Apollo gently nudged the white Sneasel. The Sneasel turned over and muttered something along the lines of, "Mmm... Giant chocolate Pikachu..."  
  
"Artemis!"  
  
He awoke with a start and sat up. "What!?"  
  
"Artemis, I want to talk to you," Apollo said.  
  
"Then go ahead," Artemis replied as he curled up on the bed again.  
  
"Artemis, I want you to be awake when I speak so I know I'm not talking to nothing."  
  
Artemis sighed and sat up again. "Alright. What's on your mind?"  
  
"Artemis, what's our next step?"  
  
"Next step?"  
  
"We've defeated Antiwarp. Now what?"  
  
Artemis yawned. "I don't know. I haven't bothered to foresee that yet."  
  
"I'm asking you to do so now."  
  
Artemis sighed and did so. "I see..."  
  
"Yes? What?" Apollo demanded.  
  
"We haven't defeated Antiwarp."  
  
Apollo stared at him blankly. "But... We did! We defeated every Antiwarp shifter and non-shifter!"  
  
"No, we haven't. We missed one."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The boss."  
  
"The boss?"  
  
Artemis nodded. "Dr. Crocus."  
  
"How tough can she be?" Apollo inquired.  
  
"Tough," Artemis replied. "I don't see an easy ending to our battle."  
  
"What DO you see?"  
  
Artemis lay again, on his side with his back to Apollo.  
  
"You don't want to know," the Sneasel finally said.  
  
"I do!" Apollo exclaimed, pulling at his partner's side so that he was on his back, eyes wide and staring into those of the human. "Artemis, tell me!"  
  
Artemis frowned. "My friend, there's nothing we can do to stop her. She's coming, and there's no way we can run."  
  
The room fell silent. Artemis turned over again with his back to his partner as Apollo thought about this. Apollo turned away.  
  
"Thank you, Artemis," he said before leaving.  
  
~~~  
  
"I know," Bill said after Apollo told him what Artemis foresaw.  
  
"How could you have known?" Apollo asked.  
  
"Crocus was absent in the battle," Bill replied as he looked through a stack of papers on a desk. "I knew I shouldn't underestimate her, and I'm sure that she wouldn't be too happy about having her underlings defeated. I figured she would come up with something to be done in retaliation for our actions, but unfortunately, I'm not sure what either. And of course, then we have to worry about her employer, Mr. Keios."  
  
Apollo's eyes widened. "Keios?"  
  
Bill looked at Apollo. "Have you heard of him?"  
  
"Keios is what Lady Aigori fears the most," Apollo responded. "Keios is an evil thing, the reason why Ash, you, and myself have all been brought together."  
  
"What else can you tell me about this Keios?"  
  
Apollo shook his head. "Nothing. Lady Aigori refuses to talk about him."  
  
Bill looked back at the papers. "Hmm..."  
  
"I can tell you one other thing INVOLVING Keios, though..."  
  
Bill glanced back at Apollo. "What?"  
  
Apollo lowered his head. "Sometime, we're going to have to fight him."  
  
"What?" Bill's eyes widened. He turned to face Apollo as what color was left in his face drained away. "But... If someone as powerful as Zero is afraid of him, then exactly how will we defeat him?"  
  
"I don't know, but I'm thinking it has something to do with you, mainly."  
  
"With me?"  
  
Apollo nodded. "Ever since Contessa Loveland died, Lady Aigori seemed to have taken an interest in you in particular, saying that she'll have complete faith in you when we go to fight the battle, which has been named the Beginning of the End."  
  
"But... What does Tess have to do with this?"  
  
"I don't know. Lady Aigori never bothered to answer that."  
  
Bill glanced back at the stack of papers and sighed. "It seems that ever since I had gained my powers, an endless amount of questions keep coming toward me each day I live with them."  
  
"I've felt the same way, my friend."  
  
Suddenly, there was a crash heard from somewhere above. The cellar door was flung open, and Jude called from the top.  
  
"Apollo! Bill! You two had better come up here! And bring some Pokémon! Something's going on up here!" she yelled.  
  
The two shifters looked at each other and gave each other a small nod before gathering PokéBalls and running up the stairs.  
  
~~~  
  
Crocus had definitely changed due to the Hell Stone. Her eyeglasses were gone, leaving her glowing, green eyes naked. Her light-skinned, sickeningly thin body was wrapped in a long, dark violet gown held to her shoulders only by dark violet straps. Her nails became blood-red claws, and her auburn hair on which the dark circlet sat dropped around her shoulders and seemed to have grown darker in color. Even her blackened lips had an evil look on them as she smirked.  
  
A wind seemed to have picked up around her as she knocked down both doors of the lighthouse with a single bolt of lightning. She seemed to float into the room, staring at Jude, Ash, and Artemis with a sinister look.  
  
"Move aside, kiddies," she said with a hollow, echoing voice. "I'm only here for one person."  
  
"We're not going to let you hurt my brother!" Jude announced.  
  
"We?" Artemis inquired.  
  
"Yeah, she looks kinda scary," Ash added.  
  
"If you don't fight her, I'll give you something you can REALLY be scared about!" Jude yelled, holding up a fist.  
  
"WAH! Reminds me too much of Misty!!" Ash exclaimed as he pulled Pikachu off of his shoulder and clung to him.  
  
Ignoring this, Crocus landed and chuckled. "Brother? So, I presume you're little Jude McKenzie, am I right? Yes... My employees had to track down your cute little Cyndaquil. I think you remember why, don't you?"  
  
Ash looked at Jude. "Why?"  
  
Jude handed him her PokéBalls. "Fight now; story later."  
  
Ash nodded. "Got it."  
  
Jude darted over, about to duck into the cellar, just as Bill came up with his Pokémon and Apollo behind him. Jude grabbed her brother by the arm.  
  
"Good luck," she said.  
  
Bill took one look at Crocus and nodded. "Thanks, Jude."  
  
Jude retreated underground as the three humans released all the Pokémon they held and shifted into their three strongest: Ash into Pikachu, Bill into Kadabra, and Apollo into Skarmory.  
  
Just then, Crocus sent out the first blast of her new powers. It hit the tiny Pokémon army headon.  
  
Suddenly, everything went black.  
  
~~~  
  
Everything was dark and silent. Completely silent except for one whisper.  
  
"Bill... Please... Wake up..."  
  
'Zero?' he thought. 'Wait...'  
  
He opened his eyes and looked up at Crocus, waiting for him with a smile on her face.  
  
"I want to get rid of you while you're still conscious," she told him. "I want to hear you scream."  
  
{Oh crikey,} Bill muttered.  
  
The Hell Stone began to glow as Crocus let loose another bolt of green lightning. Swiftly, Bill shielded himself with Barrier, though it only softened the impact. He was struck, but slowly afterwards, he regained his strength and stood up.  
  
{What is Crocus doing here!?} he thought aloud.  
  
Crocus wagged a finger at him. "Dr. Crocus is long gone now. You may now bow down to Queen Lilith!"*2*  
  
{I refuse to bow to a demon like you,} Bill told her bluntly. {And how exactly can you understand me anyways?}  
  
Queen Lilith (as she called herself) smirked. "The Hell Stone gives me the power to do anything."  
  
{The Hell Stone...?}  
  
"Allow me to demonstrate!"  
  
With that, Queen Lilith waved her hand in Bill's direction, channeling another surge of green energy at him. He braced himself for another attack while using yet another Barrier.  
  
Suddenly, a silver arrow descended from the ceiling, piercing the ball of energy and striking the floor. The green energy fizzled out before it even struck Bill's Barrier as the silver arrow itself stuck straight up from where it embedded its arrowhead, still there, still tangible, and still glittering.  
  
Both Queen Lilith and Bill looked up to see a Dragonite, on whose back rode Zero with a quiver on her back and a bow in her hands. As the two on the ground stared up at her, Reno went behind them and used a Revive on Ash and Apollo before instructing them to shift back.  
  
"What a cute little girlie," Queen Lilith commented. "Too bad her little thorns don't stand a chance against the Hell Stone!"  
  
As Lilith shot out another ball of green energy, directed at Zero, the pixie drew out another silver arrow and shot it directly at the ball. It pierced through, dispersing the evil energy before it grazed Lilith's face. The edge of the arrowhead slashed across her face as it went past her. She screeched and buried her face in her hands.  
  
"My beauty!" she cried. "I was supposed to be a beautiful queen!" She growled and took her hands away, looking up at Zero. "You'll pay for this!"  
  
Zero prepared a third arrow as Lilith sent a gust of wind. The girl on the Dragonite was able to shoot the arrow, but it didn't go far before falling, just like she did from the dragon's back.  
  
{Zero!} Bill called out as he used Kadabra's telekinetic abilities to catch her and place her safely on the ground.  
  
The Dragonite roared and fired a Hyper Beam at Lilith. She sent another wave of energy, countering Hyper Beam and forcing Dragonite into a wall.  
  
"You can't beat me!" Lilith declared to Zero. "Not with the Hell Stone!"  
  
At this point, Bill used Psychic on her. It struck Lilith squarely, forcing her backwards and causing her to fall on her side. She gasped and glared at him menacingly.  
  
{Have you forgotten about me?} Bill asked. {I feel insulted.}  
  
"You fool!" Lilith boomed as she stood back up. "How dare you knock your queen down!"  
  
"Junsuisa YA!"*3*  
  
Lilith only had a short second to look up as Zero shot an arrow of light at her. It hit her in the heart and transformed into a stream of energy that sank into her as she shrieked.  
  
Suddenly, a voice echoed in the room. "Crocus. You have failed me. Accept your punishment."  
  
"Master Keios!" Lilith cried.  
  
"Keios..." Zero whispered.  
  
Bill blinked. {Keios...?}  
  
"Master Keios!" Lilith cried again. "Don't leave me! Please! Let me have another chance!"  
  
"You don't deserve anything from me," Keios stated. "And so now, I'll even take back the Hell Stone... right after it takes away your life force..."  
  
The Hell Stone began to glow green as it began to suck something out of Lilith. The pathetic woman twisted and screamed before collapsing on the floor. The metal of the circlet disappeared into the Hell Stone before it floated upwards and disappeared into a point of darkness.  
  
Lilith's clothes turned back into the labwear she used to have as she groaned weakly. Bill cautiously stepped closer to her and looked at her.  
  
"You're safe from me now, McKenzie," she said. "But mark my words... You won't be safe for long. I'm no longer threatening you; I'm warning you..."  
  
She closed her eyes and vanished into a pile of dust.  
  
There was silence.  
  
"Shift back," Zero told him. "I want to talk to you, but perhaps you would be more comfortable in your normal body."  
  
He nodded and followed her advice.  
  
~~~  
  
"Zero's here?" Jude half inquired, half repeated as she helped her brother up.  
  
He nodded. "And she wants to speak with me... with all of us, probably."  
  
Jude followed her brother up the stairs and into the main hall where Zero and Reno (who had just recalled his Dragonite) were waiting with Ash, Apollo, and Artemis. As soon as Jude and Bill joined the group, Zero turned to Ash and Apollo.  
  
"I asked Reno to help me come here because I wanted to give the both of you something," she stated before handing Ash the quiver and bow she had used before as well as a sheathed sword to Apollo. "I asked the both of you to become shifters because, as shifters, your bodies gain a large amount of energy. Energy that could be used for the purpose of what you think shifting is, or energy to be used for the true purpose of shifting: shifting life force and energy.   
  
"These weapons you hold in your hands are powerful tools used by two of the original Three of the prophecy, which will be told to all of you in good time. They have played a part in the prophecy time and time again, and they will help you in the final part, the Beginning of the End, in which you fight Keios himself. If used properly, you will be able to transfer your pure energy into these weapons and use them to purify Keios. If that cannot be done, we will have to undergo a more drastic measure, one that involves Bill's gift, which will be revealed if and when the time calls for it."  
  
She stopped briefly to give a nod to Bill. He only stared at her blankly.  
  
Zero turned back to Ash and Apollo and continued. "Do not use these gifts now. When the time comes, Reno will teach you when and how to use them. These arms are not only powerful, but they are also fragile. They can purify Pandemonium*4* before destroying themselves and those who use them. That is, if used improperly and for the wrong reason. Do you understand?"  
  
With wide eyes, Apollo and Ash nodded.  
  
"Good." Zero turned to Bill. "The time is fast approaching when you finally learn the truth about your destiny and its link to the prophecy. Soon, I will come for you and tell you all you need to know."  
  
"Thank you, Zero," he said, bowing slightly to her.  
  
"Don't thank me yet," she replied with a smile. She then looked up at Reno. "I believe it is time we departed. That is all I wanted to do."  
  
Reno nodded and led Zero out of the lighthouse and into the calm, night air.  
  
Apollo and Ash admired the weapons they were given*5* as Bill, Jude, and Artemis were left to hang on to Zero's words.  
  
"I wonder what she's gonna give you," Jude muttered to Bill.  
  
"I don't know," he admitted, "but there's a part of me that's reluctant to find out..."  
  
~~~  
  
A council of eight sat in a room of white marble, around a round, wooden table with a sun carved into its surface. All eight wore different colored cloaks, one for each color of the rainbow with an old man in white sitting opposite from a young man in black.   
  
In the center of the table, where the center of the sun would be, there was a silver bowl of water sitting in a hole in the center with its edges attached to the wood of the side of the hole. In the bottom of the bowl, submerged in crystal-clear water (no doubt holy), was a large piece of Cosmos Stone embedded in the silver. Each member occasionally glanced at the waters, but the old man had his eyes glued on them.  
  
"So, with Lady Aigori's help, the Three are victorious," a lady in blue stated.  
  
"Quite impressive for all of them, especially Lady Aigori," the man next to her, in a cloak of green, commented. "It is apparent that she has been fully revitalized after her latest reincarnation. However, could the Three have survived without her?"  
  
"I should say so," a woman in an orange cloak replied. "With the added energy from becoming a shifter master, the light inside the Prime would have revealed itself."  
  
"You and I both know that it is much too early for the light to come out," the young man in black stated. "And everyone here knows that the light will only come out at the right time. The light wouldn't have played a role, and the Three would have died under the power of the Hell Stone."  
  
"What do you think, Marcus?" a girl in yellow asked, turning to the old man in white.  
  
"Do not underestimate the power of the Three," Marcus replied, taking his blue eyes away from the bowl. "The Heavens look upon them and tell us that they are not meant to die just yet, especially due to evil forces. No matter what the Hell Stone Lilith possessed was capable of, it is this divine word that protects the Three and would have saved them."  
  
"Are you saying that... god Himself is protecting the Three?" The man in red's eyes widened.  
  
Marcus looked back at the bowl. "Perhaps."  
  
"Preposterous!" the man in black muttered. "Hmph... god!"  
  
"Why is it so unbelievable, Lucius?" a woman in purple questioned.  
  
"Because..." Lucius couldn't think of a way to finish that sentence.  
  
"Because it's not true?" a scratchy voice finished.  
  
A cloud of darkness swirled in the bowl.  
  
"Keios!" the group gasped.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Marcus growled.  
  
Keios laughed as the Cosmos Stone at the bottom of the bowl turned a violent green. Suddenly, the room became darker as the stone walls turned to a dark purple. Slowly, when everything was dark enough, a dark cloud rose from the bowl, eventually producing Keios.  
  
"High Rise Circle," he addressed to the group, "be enveloped in darkness!"  
  
Keios released bolts of darkness which struck seven of the eight members of High Rise Circle, turning their cloaks into dark versions of their pastel-colored clothing, just like their light hearts turned dark. This happened with all of them except one. Marcus.  
  
"I refuse to allow you to take me over!" Marcus declared.  
  
"Very well, then," Keios said. "I'll allow my new puppets to be rid of you..."  
  
With that, he nodded to the seven. They each stood up and walked over, as if they were zombies, towards Marcus. Marcus backed against the wall, trying to remain apart from them. He succeeded until finally, like savage dogs, six leaped upon him and killed him.  
  
Keios watched on with an evil grin as the seventh, Lucius, stood by his side.  
  
"I have grand plans for High Rise Circle, Lucius," Keios said.  
  
"And we'll be here to obey your every command, Master," Lucius responded.  
  
***  
  
End episode 20*6*  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: This is what she did in Antivirus, though it doesn't explain how she could have been hurt by the virus. I suppose we can just imagine that that was the side effect of the wish she made on the Cosmos Stone.  
  
*2*: Lilith is Dr. Crocus' given name (or first name). And yes, she's going overboard, but that's the Hell Stone's doing.  
  
*3*: Japanese. It literally means "purity arrow."  
  
*4*: The capital of Hell, according to Milton's Paradise Lost. (I've never read the work; I just came across that bit of information one day in the dictionary when I was trying to find out how to spell "pandemonium." ^_^;  
  
*5*: I'm sorry. I just have to stop and marvel at the fact that I had managed to fit the words "Ash," "weapon," and "given" into the same sentence, as in "Ash was given a weapon." o_o; Bah. Then again, it could be worse. I could fit "drunken," "Professor Ivy," "weapon," and "given" into the same sentence. As in, "A drunken Professor Ivy was given a weapon." Now THAT would be scary. (It's not that I don't like Professor Ivy. She's okay to me now. It's just that you have to be drunk to put up with those aides of hers. I mean, if I were sober, and I had to deal with three, identical, nasaly-voiced, ill-mannered nerds, I'd probably shoot myself. -_-)  
  
*6*: And thus ends the final episode of Warp Series 02: The Antiwarp Saga. And yes, it gave you the taste of the fantasy stuff you'll wind up seeing in the third season (though I'll still draw next season out longer, with Quantum Leap-y episodes thanks to a request from Shadowcrawler). Stay tuned for the "DVD extras"! 


	12. Extra 01: Question Answer Section

Warp Series 02: Extra 01--  
Question-Answer Section  
  
This is basically the return of the same interviews as before, as in, the layout is the same, so if you've read the first season's Q-A Section, then that's great; I need not repeat myself. If not, all actions are between [ and ]. Remember, this only applies to the Q-A Section.  
  
And by the way, yes, I've changed my name to Kazeto Tamashii, so no longer will anyone refer to me as Mai below. And though Kazeto is supposed to be a surname (as in the Japanese tradition), I'm using that instead of Tamashii because Tamashii is the name of another character of mine, the same Tamashii in such fanfics as Dreaded Cyber Blackhole of DOOM! and Tamashii Strikes AGAIN!, both of which... er... bash Fanfiction.net. ^_^;  
  
Anywho, what I'm trying to say is that I want you all to keep Tamashii and myself separate in your minds, so I'm using Kazeto below. ^_^  
  
Okay? Okay!  
  
Kazeto: We've come to a close to the second season of Warp Series. Season two! I've actually written twenty chapters, and I'm still going! Amazing! And do you know what kept me going?  
  
Bill: No life?  
  
Kazeto: Uh... No. It was the readers!  
  
Bill: Who don't have a life?  
  
Kazeto: Will you knock that off? [puppy dog eyes] Please?  
  
Bill: [sighs] If I had a penny for everytime you looked at me like that...  
  
Kazeto: So, where IS everyone, anyways?  
  
Ziggy: [appears] Ziggy is in the building!  
  
Bill: Ash, Artemis, and Apollo get nervous when interviewed. As for Jude, she's where she should be. In her room, doing her homework.  
  
Jude: [reading aloud] And so, the processes of the electron transport chain include... [groans and lets her head fall forward, into her biology book]  
  
[Cut back to the studio]  
  
Kazeto: Bill, you're evil.  
  
Bill: Thank you.  
  
Kazeto: Anywho, in honor of everyone who bothered to support Warp Series over the years...  
  
Ziggy: [whispering to Bill] I thought Warp Series was only a few months old...  
  
Bill: [whispering back] It is, but don't tell Kazeto-chan about that.  
  
Kazeto: [pulls out a box of reviews] ...We're going to answer the reviews! Yay!  
  
Bill: Don't you do that every fifth installment?  
  
Kazeto: Yeah? So?  
  
Bill: It's only the fourth.  
  
[Pause.]  
  
Kazeto: So I suck at math! So sue me! Anywho...! [pulls out a review] Alright, this one was sent in by DarkCatXX for episode sixteen. DarkCatXX writes, "Thanks for answering my question. However I'M NOT 13! Thank the good lord above I've only got to wait 5 more months...Anyway liked the story! Can't wait for the next! In the meantime I'll be writing my storys so I have a bunch when ( and if unfortunetly) I join!"  
  
Ziggy: Yay! Thanks for saying you like the story! We all know that you come here to read about ME!  
  
Bill: [eyes dart around] Uh... Right... Ziggy... They've come to see... you...  
  
Ziggy: Just what is that supposed to mean!?  
  
Bill: ....  
  
Kazeto: Anywho, you're welcome, DarkCatXX. ^_^ As for your age predicament, just lie! That's what I did when I was your age.  
  
Bill: Um... Isn't it illegal to lie about your age for something like this? After all, it IS not unlike getting a fake ID, and I'm positive THOSE are illegal as well...  
  
Kazeto: Illegal, huh? Funny, that didn't seem to stop YOU on New Year's Eve...  
  
Bill: [blushes with embarrassment] My circumstances were different! How was I supposed to know the drinks were spiked!? [stops suddenly and covers his mouth, as if he said a bit too much]  
  
(Small note: But seriously, just wait, DCXX. Those five months will fly by. And don't lie about your age. It just gives you a guilty feeling afterwards. That is, if you're like me. ^_^; And no, I can't remember lying myself; I've always had permission from an adult to do certain things. =/)  
  
Kazeto: [laughs] And I've got photographic proof... [pulls out another review] This one's from Light Sneasel, also for episode sixteen. He writes, "Acually Revelation 6:2 starts the whole part with the four hosesmen, conquest, war, famine, death if you wanted to know... intresting I figured that it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of Bill's power. Silly Artemis, never using slash. Giggled when Ash when boom. Keios wasn't happy that Bill got away, which is a good thing. It seems the bad boy is scared of Bill, which is an odd thing. Is Bill really that strong?"  
  
Bill: No, but oh, Heaven, how I wish I am...  
  
Kazeto: And thanks for the info about the Bible. Perhaps I should reread that part.  
  
Ziggy: Kazeto reading the Bible at all!? Dear god! The Apocalypse really IS happening!  
  
Kazeto: Quiet, you. I can be religious too. -_-  
  
Ziggy: But you're not even Christian!  
  
Kazeto: So? You aren't either. Does it really matter?  
  
Ziggy: What makes you think I'm not Christian?  
  
Kazeto: Because you're not.  
  
Ziggy: Why?  
  
Kazeto: Because... um... Bill? Explain!  
  
Bill: Well, Ziggy is an artificial life form, meaning that she can't worship a god, making her atheist. However, on the other hand, Ziggy has more of a soul than any digital being I've ever encountered, so it could be quite possible that with this soul comes a belief in a higher force, and... Wait... I'm sorry. What was the question again?  
  
Kazeto: [slaps her forehead and pulls out another review] Alright, DarkCatXX, on episode seventeen, writes, "Hi, it is I, DarkCatXX.MUHAHAHA...Back again for my usual review. It's OK that you kinda got your episode in late. I'm good at waiting ...kinda...well,as long as I have suger.(Notice the unusual Muhahaing) Also I would like to welcome you and your fic to be on my top three favourite fics!( the only pokemon one I might add!^-^) If you enjoy Yu-Gi-Oh! you should read Being Dead Ain't Easy and 100 Years After Battle City." [puts the review aside] Aww! That's so sweet! Thanks for the compliment! And hmm... Those fanfics sound good... Almost as good as demon monkey boys named Jorgé! (Such as the one created by my friend, FigNewton! Worship her, dammit!)  
  
Bill: You know, it just dawned on me...  
  
Ziggy: What?  
  
Bill: The writer is insane, and so are the readers. THAT'S why all those bothersome Pokémon fans keep coming back and encouraging Kazeto to put us through the sort of situation she comes up with when she's in a delirious state!  
  
Kazeto: Hey... The readers take offense to that!  
  
Ziggy: Wha? And you don't?  
  
Kazeto: No, not really. Bill knows me too well. Heh heh heh...  
  
Bill: I rest my case.  
  
Ziggy: What? We're in court now!? Oh no! I plead not guilty! NOT GUILTY!!  
  
Kazeto and Bill: [glance at each other]  
  
Kazeto: Anywho! [pulls out another review] This comes in from Tiggera, on episode seventeen as well. She writes, "Hi there! I just wanted to tell you that I'm still reading. Is Ash going to help out Bill in his quest? I'm glad you like my sign-off and porygon (such a cool Pokemon! But it's horrible in Pokemon Stadeum 2).  
Tiggera  
I'm not the only one!"  
  
Bill: [sighs] Not the only one. That's EXACTLY what bothers me...  
  
Kazeto: Thanks for staying faithful! And I suppose I answered your question about Ash in Lost and Found, probably because I read your review to boost my ego... and to check to see if anyone bothers to flame it. Flames are fun.  
  
Ziggy: Is Kazeto a pyro?  
  
Bill: Yes, but that's not what she meant by "flame."  
  
Kazeto: And yes, Porygon is cool! It's Psybeam and Tri Attack kick butt like there's no tomorrow, and its Conversion (in the TCG) is pretty nifty too! XD Of course, I've never played Pokémon Stadium 2 (only the original... and it was a demo) because I don't actually own an N64. Why? Because Kazeto-chan is a cheap little fangirl. -_- [pulls out another review] Yet another Light Sneasel review, this time, for episode seventeen! He writes, "So mcuh foreshadowing! @_@ My mind hurts! I can just picture Bill with a smug fox smile when he dealt with the anti-shifters. Poor Ash, having a watcher like Jude... And poor Jude having a charge like Ash. What is with Ash and attracting tempermental women. May, Misty and Jude all have tempers. Well they'll get better if they follow their hearts. btw Keios has seven years bad luck."  
  
Bill: [snickers] Jude will get a kick out of this...  
  
Ziggy: And she'll get a kick into YOU if you tell her.  
  
Bill: True, but somehow, I think it's worth it.  
  
Ziggy: Not if she aims for... [glances down (cough) there for a second]  
  
Bill: Uh... In that case, I'll just allow her to, um, find out for herself! ^_^;  
  
Ziggy and Kazeto: Good decision!  
  
Kazeto: Anywho, sorry for giving you a head (mind?) ache. ^_^; And yes, I could picture Bill the same way... And I think he'd be rather cute...  
  
Ziggy: You'd think he were cute if he were in his human body while wearing nothing but a fig leaf.  
  
Bill: [blushes furiously] WHAT!!?  
  
Kazeto: Heh heh... True...  
  
Bill: [keeps blushing until his face is bright red] ZIGGY! KAZETO!!  
  
(Small note: Yes, Kazeto wrote that part on a day when she was feeling a bit perverted... XD)  
  
Kazeto: [smiles broadly as she continues] Anywho, I never thought about the superstition involving the broken mirror, but I guess you can call it foreshadowing now. ^_^ [pulls out another review] This one comes from Shadowcrawler, for episode 18. "This story is going great. I can't wait to read the next chapter. I like it that you brought Ash into the story. The foreshadowing makes it great because it keeps me wondering whats going to happen." [puts the review aside] Aww! Thank you! And I'm glad you like that I brought Ash into the story. The reason why is to, ahem, make up for what I did to him in Compromise.  
  
Bill: Er, what did you do to him in Compromise?  
  
Kazeto: The same thing you did on Christmas Eve.  
  
Bill: What? What are you talking about? I don't remember doing anything on Christmas Eve!  
  
Kazeto: Exactly.  
  
Bill: What!? Dear god!!  
  
Kazeto: But seriously, I gave Ash such a small part that I felt I had to find some way to make the Ash fans happier. After all, I have no intention on making this ALL about Bill. You can only boost the lad's ego so much!  
  
Bill: Wait... What did I do on Christmas Eve?  
  
Kazeto: Let's just say it involved egg nog and a few of Santa's female elves.  
  
Bill: Dear god, I had to ask...!  
  
Kazeto: [grins mischieviously as she pulls out another review] Light Sneasel again, for episode eighteen! "Woza, I really think Crocus is underestmateing Keios here... what makes her so sure that she can take control if she can't beat our favorate shifter? Unless, she has something we haven't seen before... Jude must be scary when mad if Artemis is frightened of her. So Bill is a master shifter, huh? Why do I have the feeling that Zero told Artemis where Bill was going just so Apollo and Ash would know where to help him? (As the orcale said in the matrix reloaded: 'You've already made your choise, know you want to understand why.'  
"The last battle with Keios is going to be something if the Lendgenaries are all coming to party. Which begs the question, what is Keios?"  
  
Bill: Hmm... What is Keios...? That's a good question! Kazeto? Care to field this one?  
  
Kazeto: No.  
  
Bill: What? But... Uh... What am I supposed to do now...?  
  
Kazeto: Go on. Tell Light Sneasel what Keios really is.  
  
Bill: Um... Hmm... Keios... Er... He would be... An enigma?  
  
Kazeto: There you go! Now, was that so hard?  
  
Bill: Suddenly, I feel so American...  
  
Kazeto: HEY! What's that supposed to mean!?  
  
Bill: Nothing...  
  
Kazeto: Hmph... [shrugs] Anywho, I suppose I answered a few questions about Crocus, Ash, and Apollo in the last two episodes of the second season, so I'll just move on. [pulls out another review] This is from DarkCatXX, for episode 18! "I'm sorry I'm late! I read half of the story two days ago and then, before I could finish I had to log off and I haven't got to it till now. As for the story now I'm REALLY wanting to see what happens. I can understand you addiction for a video game (MY brother's friend lent him Golden Sun and I've played way more then him!^-^") Can't wait for the next of this fic! ( also I'm sorry I couldn't e-mail you for 'The Labyrinth Game'. Hope I'm still in it though!" [puts the review aside] First off, you're not late. ^_^ Secondly, I was thinking of discontinuing The Labyrinth Game and putting it up as a plot bunny (meaning ANYONE could continue it), but suddenly, I have newfound interest in it and will finish the first part soon. On the other hand, also watch out for a solid announcement if/when my interest runs out again. o.o;  
  
Ziggy: You think that'll happen to Warp Series?  
  
Bill: I doubt it. And why are you concerned about that?  
  
Ziggy: Because if Warp Series ends, so will my existance! [sobs]  
  
[pause]  
  
Bill: I'm sorry. I just can't seem to see a bad side to this.  
  
Ziggy: [sniffles] Insensitve bastard...  
  
Kazeto: Anywho... [pulls out another review] Blue-eyes toon dragon (Eee hee! XD), on episode eighteen, writes, "It's me the new author pluaged with writer's block. I really do enjoy warp series but I have a  
If ash is going to lead the legendary pokemon. Why did he even need shifter powers in the first place?  
"best wishes,  
"Betd "  
  
Bill: But Betd has a what..?  
  
Ziggy: Huh?  
  
Bill: It says, "I really do enjoy warp series but I have a..."  
  
Ziggy: Perfectionism. Rid yourself of it before we start performing exorcisms.  
  
Bill: .... -_-  
  
Kazeto: [ignoring the above] Poor Betd. Don't worry. You'll get over writer's block eventually. All writers do. ^_^ And when you do, I'll have a bottle of Essence of Motivation for you to take and sniff when you need something to keep you writing!  
  
Bill: Don't take it. It's glue.  
  
Kazeto: How would YOU know!?  
  
Ziggy: We both saw you sniff your "Essence of Motivation." And then of course, Bill had to explain to me that you were getting high off of the fumes.  
  
Kazeto: But I kept on writing, didn't I?  
  
Bill: Kazeto, you have very interesting logic.  
  
Kazeto: Thank you!  
  
Bill: That wasn't a...  
  
Kazeto: [interrupting] Anywho, I tried to answer your question about Ash at the end of episode twenty, when Zero spoke about shifters being able to channel good energy and even life force into objects, such as the bow and arrow Ash received from her. The higher the rank (i.e. novice shifter -- can't control their powers, shifter adept -- can control certain elements of their powers, such as time, or shifter masters -- can completely control their powers), the more energy you can shift. Trust me, that'll be important to remember as well. [pulls out another review] DarkCatXX, for episode nineteen, writes, "You addicted to Golden Sun too? Yah ^_^! Can't wait for the next chapter! Can't wait to see the prophecy! Oh yes and just one little question. I don't mean to sound rude but I know you said I may be in you story a while back. Just wondering if I still was. (Sorry I like to be in other people's storys. I like to see how they think I act and such!)" [puts the review aside] First off, yep! I'm addicted to Golden Sun! (Ivan is adorable!) In fact, at the time that I wrote this, I've reached the pirate ship in Crossbone Island (Damn that Deadbeard!), and trust me, there's a reason why it took so dang long... o.o;  
  
Bill: I feel so... behind the times right now.  
  
Ziggy: You only felt that RIGHT NOW? Dang, I thought that when you started wearing all that Victorian garb, you would feel it right away!  
  
Bill: [looks at the way he's currently dressed -- the usual red, Victorian suit from "Mystery at the Lighthouse"] What's wrong with my clothing?  
  
Ziggy: Noooo comment.  
  
Bill: [cocks his head]  
  
Kazeto: Anywho, don't worry. You didn't sound rude. But no, I haven't forgotten that I'm going to put you in the story, but unfortunately, I don't know exactly how. Feel free to send me any suggestions (or a short description of the character you want) via e-mail so I might find SOME sort of inspiration... ^_^ [pulls out another review] Light Sneasel writes, for episode nineteen, "So, things are coming to and end, neh? Well with Reno coming into the mix, Warp has more firepower then ever. But this councel wouldn't be the Pokmeon League would it? Cause if they found out about Warp, then they might want to interfer, which could be bad for our heros. Then again they could be someone else entirely... Well, the good doctors Demon Ball most likely won't due what she plans cause I don't think Keios is a pokemon, but if he is he most certenly isn't a normal one... Well we'll see what develops..." [puts the review aside] Well, as you saw in episode twenty, the council isn't the Pokémon League, but that does give me a good idea...  
  
Ziggy: Does it involve Bill, Sabrina, and Sabrina's doll city?  
  
Kazeto: Well, that was one of them.  
  
Ziggy: Heh heh heh... XD  
  
Bill: Suddenly, I have the strangest feeling of impending doom...  
  
Kazeto: As for Keios, you'll just have to wait and see what he really is, but I'm interested to know what your guess is... ^_^  
  
Bill: Out of curiousity, WHY was I feeling a sense of danger when you mentioned Sabrina?  
  
Kazeto: Let's just say I think you'd be cute as a doll... XD  
  
Bill: Excuse me!?  
  
Kazeto: [pulls out another review] For episode nineteen, Shadowcrawler wrote, "Great chapter. I would like more of the Quantum Leap-y...ness. It would be nice to have some chaps that aren't focused on the main plot line. Can't wait to read the next Chapter and good luck on your finals." [puts the review aside] Alright. I'll try to do more Quantum Leap-y episodes, but they'll have to be "lost episodes" I'll put in after I finish the storyline. The reason why I didn't include episodes that go off of the main plotline is because I was afraid that if I didn't finish the main story and created a bunch of "filler episodes," then I'd get bored with the project and abandon it, just like I had with so many others. I promise you, after I finish up the main story, I'll go back and add in fillers. But the real reason why I asked about Quantum Leap-y episodes wasn't because I was concerned about fillers; I was actually concerned about whether or not people would like it if I started writing episodes with more fantasy in them, rather than science fiction... ness. After all, next season would be labeled as "fantasy/sci-fi" rather than "sci-fi/fantasy", and trust me, there's a difference.  
  
Ziggy: Where's the difference?  
  
Kazeto: "Fantasy/sci-fi" has more fantasy in it than science fiction. Vice versa for "sci-fi/fantasy" stories. [continues] And thanks for the wish for luck on me finals. I, um, passed. Not with flying colors but...  
  
Bill: B average?  
  
Kazeto: [glares at him] Hey! You weren't supposed to tell them that!!  
  
Bill: And thus, I have gotten my revenge for the humiliation they put me through with the "fig leaf" comment. I am content...  
  
Kazeto: [ignoring him] And now, we reach another point in this extra, when Ziggy does the interviews! [hands Ziggy a clipboard]  
  
Ziggy: Hey! Why me!?  
  
Kazeto: You barely had anything to say during the last half anyways.  
  
Ziggy: Hmm... True... Alright! [looks at the list of questions on the clipboard] Will there be a fourth and a fifth season?  
  
Bill: Good god, please say no!  
  
Kazeto: No...  
  
Bill: Thank you!  
  
Kazeto: ...And yes.  
  
Bill: What!?  
  
Kazeto: There will be a fourth story arc, not a season. It's actually the Warp Series movie that will conclude the series. (Hey, Card Captor Sakura had the same thing going, so why can't Warp Series?) However, the fifth season will simply be all the filler episodes I've skipped over. If you want to look at it on a technical level, the fifth season doesn't even exist.  
  
Bill: [sighs] Well, at least Kazeto will only put me through a few more months of agony...  
  
Kazeto: Who ever said anything about months!? I've got other stories lined up after that!  
  
Bill: [looks at the ceiling] Dear god, what have I done to offend you?  
  
Ziggy: Okay, and will there be any of the following -- datashipping (Bill and Ziggy), spunkshipping (Jude and Ash), or any other 'ship in general?  
  
Kazeto: Hmm... If I ever get to it, I have a datashippy Christmas special planned...  
  
Bill: [mumbling] Lachesis torments me...  
  
(Side note: Lachesis. One of the three Fates of Greek mythology. The one who drew lots for each man's destiny.)  
  
Kazeto: Otherwise, nope. Though there might be a few spunkshippy moments...  
  
Bill: At last! Something that brightens my day!  
  
Kazeto: Heh heh... Wait until I tell HER that...  
  
Bill: Er... I didn't say anything!  
  
Kazeto: Give me a kiss, and I'll pretend I didn't hear anything.  
  
Bill: What!? Never!  
  
Kazeto: Kiss on the cheek or face your sister. You decide.  
  
Bill: [mutters something involving the word "blackmail" before he kisses Kazeto on the cheek]  
  
Kazeto: Okay! You didn't say a thing! ^_^ Next question!  
  
Ziggy: Will you do a sequel to Warp Series?  
  
Kazeto: No, but I'll do something with the same flavor. (I've already started writing the first chapter of the fanfiction. You'll be able to see at least the first two or three chapters in winter of 2004, when the regular storyline of Warp Series should be completed.) I can tell you only this about it -- It's supernatural; it's weird, and it stars Bill again.  
  
Bill: Why me...?  
  
Kazeto: [hugs him] Because I like you! ^_^  
  
Bill: Well, that's one less thing I have to worry about...  
  
Kazeto: Heh heh... Right... ^_^; [thinks about that new fanfiction for a moment]  
  
Ziggy: Where do you get your inspiration?  
  
Kazeto: Mostly stolen ideas from other shows, things I want to see done in a fanfiction, et cetera. [shrugs]  
  
Ziggy: Are Ziggy, Zero, Jude, Reno, and every other character you created based off of someone like Apollo and Artemis were?  
  
Kazeto: For the antagonists, no. That's just my imagination gone wild. For the PROtagonists, yes. Ziggy had been based off of the real Ziggy in Quantum Leap. Jude is an unusual mixture of the pre-Togepi Misty (god, I miss her) and my Good Charlotte-obsessed, punk/goth best friend, Dani (who, yes, has small outbursts of violence now and then, particularly aimed at her older sister). Reno was based off of the personality of the REAL Reno, the KiSS doll by Rick Cramer (downloadable at eyeofdog.com). As for Zero, I'd say who she was based off of, but then I'd give away what people have been trying to figure out since she was introduced. I'll reveal it at the end of the series, but I'll leave this by pointing out that her omniscience is a clue.  
  
Bill: I'm afraid she's not kidding when she says she wants to keep Zero mysterious. She hasn't even told ME everything about the girl, and I think we all know that Kazeto would give up government secrets to me if she knew of any.  
  
Kazeto: ^_^;  
  
Ziggy: Uh... Okay... [looks at the clipboard] This season, you usually had trouble getting a story in on time. Why didn't you just produce shorter episodes?  
  
Kazeto: Satisfaction of both the reader and myself, mainly. The reader's satisfied because there's more story in a longer episode. I'M satisfied because I've met the twelve-page minimum I've set for each episode. (Not including extras, though that would be something if I got this to be twelve freakin' pages.)  
  
[pause]  
  
Kazeto: Heh heh... I said "satisfaction"...  
  
Bill: [sighs] Perversion. It rubbed off of her other friends. Oh, god help us all.  
  
Kazeto: Nyuuu... -.-  
  
Ziggy: You know, you were inconsistant about a lot of things in the season... [fake cough] AS7! [fake cough] Why is that?  
  
Kazeto: Mainly forgetting that I had written about 'em previously. ^_^; Hey, YOU try writing at eleven at night, and see what happens! -_-  
  
Ziggy: Alright, Bill, what did you think of the season so far?  
  
Bill: Perhaps it's just getting used to being in such a story, but it wasn't as bad as the first season had been. A bit on the strange side, but like author, like story, I suppose.  
  
Ziggy: What do you REALLY think of Kazeto?  
  
Bill: I'm quite flattered that she admires me so much, but, quite frankly, the girl scares me more so than Michael Jackson.  
  
Kazeto: [emotionally hurt] Hey...  
  
Ziggy: Any words to the readers?  
  
Bill: Run.  
  
Ziggy: I said WORDS. It's plural.  
  
Bill: Run away.  
  
Ziggy: Fair enough. As for myself, I'm happy with the second season, but dang it, Kazeto, you didn't give me big enough parts!  
  
Kazeto: Alright. Next season, I'll give you bigger parts. Would you like a trailor to go with it?  
  
Ziggy: Really!? Thanks!  
  
Kazeto: That was sarcasm.  
  
Ziggy: Aww... [sniffles] Anyways, Kazeto, thanks for creating me, and thanks to the readers for supporting Kazeto! Keep praising her so she'll keep up my existance! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO POOF INTO NOTHINGNESS!! [sobs]  
  
Kazeto: [stares blankly at Ziggy] Um... Okay... [turns to the audience] Anywho, that's about all the time we have for today! Tune in another week for another continuation of Warp Series!  
  
I apologize for any and all perverted comments made during this episode. Kazeto-chan wasn't in the best of mindsets during this. But besides, if any of you (*ahem* parents) are offended by this, then I'd like to point out that there's a REASON why this is rated PG13... 


	13. Extra 02: Season Two Bloopers

Foreword: Well, this is the extra everyone's been waiting for (or so I'm told). ^_^; Same format as before; footnotes are in effect, and everything in parenthesis during the diologue are actions.  
  
And yes, beware of union jokes. ^_^;;;  
  
***  
Warp Series 02: Extra 02--  
Bloopers  
  
[Episode 11]  
  
Scene: Crocus and Keios seal their little "deal" (if Crocus helps Keios, then Keios would fund Project Antiwarp) with a handshake.  
  
Crocus: Alright, it's a deal.  
  
Keios: (holds out his hand)  
  
Crocus: (takes it, then immediately gasps as her hair stands on end)  
  
Keios: Heh heh heh... (removes his hand and holds it up to the camera, revealing a buzzer)  
  
Crocus: You immature bastard!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: After Jude first meets the gang in a Goldenrod ghetto, the gang leader offers to let her join the gang, but she turns him down and skateboards away.  
  
Gang leader: What's your name?  
  
Jude: People call me Jude. You'd better too.  
  
Gang leader: Jude, how would you like to join our gang?  
  
Jude: I don't join in. I make my own group.  
  
Gang leader: Yeah? Well, I'll let you think about it. If you want to do something fun, come back to this side of town.  
  
Jude: Whatever. (puts down her skateboard, puts one foot on it, and pushes off the ground with her other foot... only to have the board slip out from under her, leaving her to fall flat on her back)  
  
Gang: (burst out laughing)  
  
Kazeto: CUT!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: After Bill shifts in, he moves off of the bed before getting that briefing...  
  
Cyndaquil: (tilts head, then moves a bit) CYNDA! (falls off, landing with a thump) Quil...  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: After the battle with the Antiwarp agents, Artemis gets fed up with trying to pick the lock on the cage that's holding Bill and tries a different approach.  
  
Artemis: Screw this! (uses Slash on the bars, breaking them apart... but accidentally cuts Cyndaquil in the process)  
  
Cyndaquil: (angrily) QUIL! (uses Ember)  
  
Artemis: HEY! I'm trying to help you here! (retaliates with another Slash)  
  
Both Pokémon: (start fighting)  
  
Kazeto: CUT!  
  
~~~  
  
[Episode 12]  
  
Scene: Bill (inside Porygon) and Jude approach the antivirus program inside Bill's computer, about to upload it into Porygon.  
  
Jude: (looks at the big, glowing ball which happens to be the antivirus program) Are you sure you can handle THAT?  
  
(Pause.)  
  
Jude: Bill?  
  
(Sounds of crackling electricity.)  
  
Porygon: PORY! (flies out of the ball of light, landing a few feet away, completely charred) ...Gon.  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: Bill and Jude find the invisible barrier...  
  
Porygon: (speeds up)  
  
Jude: Hey! Wait up! (runs after Porygon) Wait! OOH!  
  
Porygon: (looks back)  
  
Jude: (gets up and kicks the barrier) What the hell...? (puts a hand on it and grins, before putting both hands on the barrier and moving them around) Look! I'm a mime! (does the "wall" trick mimes usually do)  
  
Kazeto: Cut! Jude!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: Bill arrives at the chamber where Ziggy is, just in time to see Zero holding back the virus.  
  
Zero: Bill... I'm glad you could finally make it...  
  
Virus: (bites her... and holds on)  
  
Zero: OW! OW! OW! (runs around while shaking her arm in an attempt to throw the virus off of her) GET THIS FRIGGIN' THING OFF ME!!  
  
~~~  
  
[Episode 13]  
  
Scene: In the beginning of the episode, Jude tries to log off of instant messanger quickly before Bill catches her.  
  
Jude: Nope. I'm good! (types quickly, then continues to log off)  
  
Computer: AOL Instant Messanger -- Disconnecting...  
  
(VERY long pause.)  
  
Computer: This program is not responding...  
  
Jude: GAH! (kicks the computer)  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: After Bill shifts in, Ziggy appears and makes a few comments about Bill's host.  
  
Ziggy: (appears) Aww...! How cute! I've always wanted an Espeon!  
  
Bill: I'll program one for you as soon as--  
  
Espeon: (gets up, walks over to a fake tree, and lifts a leg)  
  
Ziggy: ...Huh...?  
  
Espeon: Esp! (gives a relieved looks as he "marks his territory")  
  
Kazeto: CUT! Oh, god, that's disgusting! Maintenance!  
  
~~~  
  
[Episode 14]  
  
Scene: Apollo and Artemis approach Zero to ask her about things to come...  
  
Apollo: (removes his hood) Lady Aigori...  
  
Zero: (turns to him)  
  
Apollo: Do you know if the Prime is ready?  
  
Zero: (turns back to the lake waters) So far, he has passed every test I have given him. He proved his willingness to save others when he risked himself and his host to save his watcher. He has proved his determination by--  
  
Magikarp: (pops its head out of the water) Magikarp karp karp!  
  
Kazeto: CUT!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: After Bill lets Ash into his lighthouse, Ash tries to figure out who Bill is and where he's met him before.  
  
Ash: Sorry. I see a lot of people on my journeys. Where have I met you before?  
  
Bill: Right here.  
  
Ash: Hmm... I know! A.J.! You had a Sandshrew!  
  
Jude: (bursts out laughing)  
  
Bill: (blinks) Ah, no. My name is Bill, and I don't own a Sandshrew... Or at least, I don't think I do. I tend to do odd things during a full moon. (leads Ash and Jude further into the lighthouse)  
  
Ash: Ah! I remember now! You were the one stuck in the Kabuto costume!  
  
Bill: (stumbles, like he's supposed to, but then snags his foot on a loose bit of the rug and completely trips, falling forward on his face)  
  
Jude: (cracks up, laughing so hard that she has to kneel to keep herself from dropping to the floor and rolling around)  
  
Ash: (blinks blankly)  
  
Kazeto: Cut!  
  
MFC*1* members: NOOOO! (rush in and crowd around Bill)  
  
Kazeto: Hey! I thought I told the lot of you to stay BACKSTAGE! BACK BLOODY STAGE!!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: After Bill shifts in, he summons Ziggy... mainly because he's SUPPOSED to have had a "prediction"...  
  
Bill: Xatu? Vision? Prediction? ZIGGY!  
  
Ziggy: (appears) Ooh... Occulty! Interesting...  
  
Bill: Right. Just tell me my situation. I think my charge--  
  
Kazeto: (interrupts) CUT!  
  
Bill: What? What's wrong?  
  
Kazeto: That Xatu isn't doing anything!  
  
Ziggy: To be honest with you, I think it's dead.  
  
Kazeto: I hope not. The last thing we need is to have to deal with a dead parrot!  
  
Bill: Dead parrot? Heh heh... I'd like to register a complaint!*2*  
  
Everyone else: (stare at him blankly) ....  
  
Bill: Er... It's from Monty Python...  
  
Everyone else: (stare at him blankly) ....  
  
Bill: Perhaps now I should keep quiet...  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: Ziggy give Bill advice on the "prediction" issue...  
  
Bill: I'm supposed to tell the gypsy something. What should I do?  
  
Ziggy: Two words. Ad lib.  
  
Ash: (loudly, from offstage) I LOVE playing that game!  
  
Jude: She said "ad lib," not "Mad Libs," you stupid dork!  
  
~~~  
  
[Episode 15]  
  
Scene: After Ash shifts in, he finds himself in the lap of his charge, Amy.  
  
Amy: Glad to see you're awake, Marill!  
  
Ash: Marill? Why would she call me Marill?  
  
Amy: (shrieks, picking the aquatic mouse off her lap, revealing a puddle still on her skirt) IT PEED ON ME!!  
  
Kazeto: Dear lord... (slaps her forehead) Maintenance!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: Jude threatens her brother after he makes a comment about Ash and her.  
  
Bill: You know... I think you two are perfect for each other.  
  
Jude: (turns around and shakes a fist near his face) Take that back, or you're going to eat this.  
  
Bill: (laughs and pushes her fist away) Relax. I only meant you two have a lot to learn. So, if I paired the two of you up in a partnership, perhaps you can learn from each other. I didn't mean it in a romantic sense, but now that you mention it, you ARE getting a bit red in the face about it...  
  
Jude: (punches him in the face)  
  
Ziggy: Wow! She can hit!  
  
Jude: Don't read into it!  
  
(Long pause.)  
  
Jude: I said, "Don't read into it!"  
  
(Another long pause.)  
  
Bill: (doesn't even move)  
  
Jude: (nudges Bill with her foot) Uh... Bill?  
  
(One more long pause.)  
  
Jude: ...Oops.  
  
~~~  
  
[Episode 16]  
  
Scene: Crocus explains what's going on before Bill realizes that the AS7 is already taking effect.  
  
Crocus: And so, to take care of half the job, my colleagues and I have developed a powerful little drug called AS7 which reduces the energy it takes for you to shift... as well as a virus that ensures that you don't try to regain that extra energy again.  
  
Bill: Bitch. (attempts to shift out, fails, then grabs his arm, groans, and slams against the bars of the cage he's in... before the bars snap off of the cage, allowing him and them to spill onto the floor in front of Crocus) ...I didn't hit it THAT hard...!  
  
Kazeto: CUT! Gah! Damn union workers! I knew I should've put together that bloody cage myself!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: Ash (in Electrode) rolls down a set of stairs, breaks down a door, and enters the basement, where he uses Explosion.  
  
Artemis: You'd better get down there, buddy! And use Explosion when you land!  
  
Ash: What!?  
  
Artemis: (kicks Electrode down the stairs)  
  
Electrode: (rolls down, knocks down the door, and keeps rolling) Electrode! (knocks down the agent in the room)  
  
Agent: GAH!  
  
Electrode: (keeps rolling until it hits a wall, where it promptly uses Explosion, taking down half the wall)  
  
Union workers: (sit calmly and undisturbed on crates behind the wall, sipping coffee)  
  
Kazeto: CUT! I can't even BEGIN telling you what's wrong with this take!!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: Artemis tries to get Bill out of the cage by picking the lock on it.  
  
Artemis: Then we'd better hurry and get you back to the lighthouse. (carefully picks the lock... just before his paw goes flat against the cage bars) KYAA!! (pulls his claw out of the lock... well, half of it, anyways) I BROKE A CLAW!!  
  
Bill: (allows his head to rest on the bars as he laughs... but ends up pushing open the cage door anyways)  
  
Kazeto: CUT! Dammit, it was bad enough when Artemis broke his bloody claw!!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: After Bill is brought back to the lighthouse, he and Jude have a little chat.  
  
Bill: I DO care about you, Jude! Jude, I'm not ALL about Pokémon. In fact, I would willingly give up even saying the word "Pokémon" just for you -- and Mother as well. Don't you for a SECOND think I see you as anything less than anything else in my life!  
  
Jude: You mean that?  
  
Bill: Of course! Jude...  
  
(Long pause.)  
  
Bill: (shakes his head) ...I'm a lousy actor who just forgot his line.  
  
Jude: (snickers)  
  
Kazeto: Cut...! Is there any mistake we HAVEN'T had while making this show!?  
  
~~~  
  
[Episode 17]  
  
Scene: Ziggy tells Jude that she (Jude) can have a "girl talk" with Ziggy if she ever needs it.  
  
Ziggy: (shrugs) Okay, but just remember, you can always talk to me about girl things. I might have been programmed by and spent most of my time with a guy, but I'm great with girl talks.  
  
Jude: Thanks, Ziggy. (begins walking out, then turns around) By the way, Ziggy... I finally see how Bill can call you the perfect companion. (leaves)  
  
Ziggy: Aww... He DOES care...  
  
Bill: (offstage) No, I don't!  
  
Kazeto: Cut!  
  
Jude: Hey! I thought Kazeto gave you the rest of the day off!  
  
Bill: Sadly, no. She had forced me to stay so that during breaks, she could--  
  
Kazeto: (quickly interrupting) Uh, Bill? Why don't you take the rest of the day off?  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: Artemis appears to tell Ash where to go, but...  
  
Ash: How am I supposed to get Henry home when I don't know where his home is to begin with...?  
  
Artemis: Psst!  
  
Teddiursa: (looks up to see Artemis in a tree)  
  
Ash: Artemis?  
  
Artemis: Apollo and I used a little persuasion to -- WOAH! (falls out of the tree)  
  
Kazeto: (slaps a hand to her forehead)  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: After the above scene, Ash leads Henry to the road.  
  
Artemis: Now get going before your charge makes a watering hole.  
  
Ash: Got it! Thanks again!  
  
Teddiursa: (starts running... east)  
  
Kazeto: CUT! WRONG DIRECTION!!  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: The above scene, take two.  
  
Ash: Got it! Thanks again!  
  
Teddiursa: (starts running, this time, west)  
  
Henry: Hey! Teddiursa! Where're you going!? Wait for me!  
  
Teddiursa: TEDDI! (trips over a wire, taking a light with him)  
  
Henry: WOAH! (slips on a bit of slippery mud and falls before bursting out in tears)  
  
Kazeto: CUT! (sighs, rubbing her left temple) Where do I get these people...?  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: After Henry and Ash disappear into the forest, Artemis figures he'd better go after them.  
  
Henry and Ash: (run off)  
  
Artemis: I know I should leave this to Jude, but maybe I can tell her all that I know and still keep an eye on Ash... (slips off the branch, tries to teleport, fails, and winds up smacking into the ground) Ouch...  
  
Kazeto: Cut! MEDIC!  
  
~~~  
  
[Episode 18]  
  
Scene: After the test, Red takes the Cosmos Stone out of the box to finish up the ritual...  
  
Red: Honesty, purity, determination, courage. You've proven all four in this conversation alone. Congratulations. You've passed.  
  
Bill: What now?  
  
Red: (opens the box, looks inside, and pauses) Hey! The Cosmos Stone is gone!  
  
Kazeto: Cut! WHAT!?  
  
Red: Someone took the Cosmos Stone!  
  
Jessie: AH HA HA HA! We've stolen the scene, so prepare for trouble!  
  
James: We've stolen the stone, so make it double!  
  
Jessie: (jumps in front of the camera) To protect the world from devistation!  
  
James: (joins her) To unite all people within our nation!  
  
Jessie: (strikes a pose) To denounce the evils of truth and love!  
  
James: (ditto) To extend our reach to the stars--  
  
Kazeto: (interrupting) SECURITY!!  
  
Everyone except Team Rocket: (watch in contentment as Jessie and James are hauled away by several Officer Jenny...s...)  
  
~~~  
  
[Extra 01]  
  
Scene: Kazeto agrees with something Light Sneasel had said, and Ziggy makes a comment about it.  
  
Kazeto: Anywho, sorry for giving you a headache. And yes, I could picture Bill the same way... And I think he'd be rather cute...  
  
Ziggy: You'd think he were cute if he were in his human body while wearing nothing but a fig leaf.  
  
Bill: (blushes furiously) WHAT!!?  
  
(Long pause.)  
  
Kazeto and Ziggy: (burst out laughing)  
  
Bill: (looks from Kazeto to Ziggy with confused glances) What? What are you both laughing at...?  
  
Ziggy: (between laughs) Oh, nothing... Just the thought of you in nothing but a fig leaf! (laughs hysterically)  
  
(Another pause, except for the girls' laughter.)  
  
Bill: ...Hey! Are you insulting me!?  
  
Kazeto: (wipes tears away from her eyes) Bill, I love you, but my god, it took you long enough to catch on! (calms down)  
  
Ziggy: (continues to laugh until she falls out of her chair)  
  
Bill: (glares at Ziggy) ....  
  
~~~  
  
Scene: Kazeto gives a loose answer, and Bill questions it... which he probably shouldn't have done...  
  
Bill: Er, what did you do to him in Compromise?  
  
Kazeto: The same thing you did on Christmas Eve.  
  
Bill: What? What are you talking about? I don't remember doing anything on Christmas Eve!  
  
Kazeto: Exactly.  
  
Bill: What!? Dear god!!  
  
Kazeto: But seriously, I gave Ash such a small part that I felt I had to find some way to make the Ash fans happier. After all, I have no intention on making this ALL about Bill. You can only boost the lad's ego so much!  
  
Bill: Wait... What did I do on Christmas Eve?  
  
Kazeto: Let's just say you and one of Santa's female elves are going to be parents in a few months...  
  
Bill: What!? Wait! Kazeto, that's not your line!!  
  
Kazeto: (evil look) Hee hee hee...  
  
***  
  
And, two days after the deadline, Kazeto finishes up a set of long-awaited bloopers. I'd just like to point out that the last two episodes don't have bloopers due to two factors. The first being I couldn't think of any, and the second being I got tired of doing these. =/  
  
And so, tune in some other week for a REAL episode of Warp Series! ^_^  
  
---  
Footnotes:  
  
*1*: Shameless advertising time! It's open membership season at the MFC (Masaki -- aka Bill -- Fan Club!) Go to groups.yahoo.com/group/masakifc and sign up today to make this author/club owner feel special! ^_^ (Hmm... Open membership season? Oh crap! It's ALWAYS open membership season! ...There goes ANOTHER advertising gimmick... *sniffs*)  
  
*2*: Even if Xatu is technically not a parrot, I still couldn't help but make a Monty Python's Dead Parrot Sketch joke here. ^_^; 


	14. Extra 03: Season Three Trailer

Foreword: Again, same layout as before. Anything in [ and ] should be text on a dark background.  
  
***  
Warp Series 02: Extra 03--  
Trailer for Season 03  
  
(Fade in.)  
  
Zero: Something will happen soon that requires you to know the truth of your purpose.  
  
[The first season. Power is unleashed.]  
  
Zero: Many legends say that Ash is the Chosen One. Chosen by Ho-oh. Indeed he WAS chosen, but he was not A chosen.  
  
[The second season. Allies are revealed.]  
  
Zero: There is another legend, tied with an unfufilled prophecy, stating that time and time again, there were, are, and will be, in fact, THREE chosen. The Hero, the Royal, and the Angel.  
  
[The next season... Everything falls into place.]  
  
Zero: The Angel. The one who will bring peace and light to this world and the only one truly strong enough to greatly damage the shadows which threaten it, rather than purify them like the other two... This time, he is you.  
  
(Pause.)  
  
Bill: ...Me?  
  
[This summer, be prepared for a new journey like no other.]  
  
(Images of shadows and red eyes flash across the screen.)  
  
Zero: It is your destiny to end the cycle. To drive away the darkness once and for all...!  
  
Bill: ...What will happen if I fail?  
  
(Silence. Zero turns to him.)  
  
Zero: You would not want to know.  
  
[Warp Series - Season Three: The Brink of Halcyon.] 


End file.
